Lakers Year In Review: Kyle Kuzma

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SteemSports Presenter:@mateonav53

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SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets

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When he suits up for the purple and gold, he doesn't carry himself like a guy who's been doubted his whole life. He honestly has a brash confidence that's reminiscent of a young Kobe Bryant. Never touted as a one-and-done player, Kyle Kuzma's abilities have stood out this year from the Laker rookies and sophomores, partly because he spent three years maturing and developing his game in college for the Utah Utes.

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He redshirted his freshman year but was a starter his sophomore season where he averaged a respectable 11 points per game. He bumped that up to 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in his junior year and then declared for the draft. He fell all the way to pick #27 where he was selected by the Brooklyn Nets, then acquired by the Lakers in the Brook Lopez trade that saw LA part ways with D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov. The Lakers front office saw a 6'9 forward with a wingspan just a smidge over 7 feet and a versatile array of offensive moves. League scouts saw a talented forward, but they had questions on whether he could bang with the big guys on defense down low and create his own shot.

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Whoever was saying he couldn't create his own shot probably feels pretty dumb now. Back in February, it was reported by Synergy Basketball that Kyle Kuzma was in the top 4 in the league for scoring in isolation plays in terms of points per possession, only trailing James Harden, Chris Paul, and Lou Williams. He was a total threat in the post too, where he exhibited excellent footwork for a rookie, particularly against mismatched defenders. He's also on a solo mission to Make The Skyhook Great Again by whipping it out on hapless defenders for paint buckets(he's shooting a substantial 56% on hook shots).

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But before February rolled around Kuzma had his first shot of NBA action in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he ignited a barrage of three pointers and transition buckets on opponents. All summer he shined on offense and won MVP of the championship game with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Laker fans were hyped and delighted to see another late round draft pick potentially turn into gold, but critics and fans took Kuz's performance with a grain of salt. And rightly so, he was playing against G-League and kids fresh out of college

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After summer league, a solid preseason left Laker fans even more excited to start the new year. He started the regular season off incredibly strong by leading the team in points per game and then he caught absolute fire in the month of December, including three straight games of 25+ points and 38 whopping points over James Harden and the Houston Rockets. He got dinner with Kobe at a swanky steakhouse to start the year, and the hot start had many people believing he received some sort of divine Mamba Blessing, carrying it with him on the court.

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He started to hit the dreaded rookie wall in January and February, but Laker fans took it in stride because they saw the great things he could do - he just had to get out of his funk. The team was already collecting W's too thanks to the superb play of their other guys Brandon Ingram, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle. There was one game where he regained his early season powers, and he did it against none other than the hated Boston Celtics. With the game on the line, Kuzma took over and scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, propelling the team to a victory with 28 total points. Check out those highlights here

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While his bucket-getting abilities aren't being questioned, one area he can improve is on defense, where he was only average. Sometimes he struggled with team defense and got lost on assignments. Still, he would turn it up in big game moments and clamp down on his man-to-man defending, but if he could maintain a high level throughout the entire game and be a two-way threat, he could have an even longer and more fruitful career in the association. There's also room for improvement in his ball-handling and facilitation, but the Lakers have a healthy amount of ball-handlers at the moment in Lonzo and Ingram (and Isaiah Thomas if he manages to stay). Lastly, he should hit the gym Ray Allen style and take a billion free throw reps to bump up his percentage! He only hit about 71% of his attempts from the charity stripe, which is way too low for a guy who shoots like he does from the floor with multiple defenders on him. As a way to elevate his overall game, he should focus on strengthening those areas for next season.

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If you re-did the 2017 NBA draft, Kuzma probably wouldn't fall outside of the top 10. He's showed that he's ready for primetime and to put in the hard work to make it as a great player in this league. The Lakers really struck gold when they copped him in the Brook Lopez trade. He's more than just a streaky shooter. He's got the foundation and determination to become at least a 20 ppg scorer in the league. Whenever he had these huge games against elite squads like the Rockets, he was never as surprised by his results as the people interviewing him were. That's because he's always known he's had it in him, we all just happened to witness it on our TV's. I can't wait to see how much more he develops in his second year of the league.

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Thank you for following @steemsports and you can find me @mateonav53

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