Two months into his rookie season, Kyle Kuzma has made explosive nights part of
his routine.
He has averaged 27.8 points over his last five games, pushing him ahead of
Utah’s Donovan Michell as the leading scorer among this year’s rookie class.
His latest burst came against Minnesota on Tuesday, as he dropped 31 points —
the most by a rookie on Christmas Day since LeBron James had 34 in 2003.
Kyle Kuzma continues his hot streak by scoring 31 points tonight, including
hitting six shots from downtown #NBAVote. pic.twitter.com/DWfYuf6qIC
Both Kuzma and Coach Luke Walton downplayed that bit of history, saying
Christmas is just like any other day of the year when it comes to basketball.
“What’s most impressive to me about him is that he’s upset after the game
because, even though he played great, we lost,” Walton said. “He comes in here
today and is hungry to work again.”
In fact Kuzma is always starving for work.
According to Walton, Kuzma’s competitive nature is evident in everything he
does, from summer scrimmages to post-practice games of one-on-one to shooting
competitions against assistant coaches Brian Shaw and Miles Simon.
Kuzma’s work is evident in games like his last one. Here is a breakdown of five
of his best plays on a scorching night.
@kylekuzma pic.twitter.com/4MRIRqrJo6
The most impressive aspect of Kuzma’s performance was his ability to hit shots
from deep, going 6-of-11 on 3-pointers.
Even more eye-opening was the fact that many of those shots were tough looks
with a hand in his face that he hit anyway.
Walton has spent much of the season preaching Kuzma on the importance of quality
shot attempts, but also is more lenient when the 22-year-old is as hot as he was
on Christmas.
On this play, Kuzma’s ability to splash under suffocating defense bails the
Lakers out of a tough spot.
They begin with Kuzma and Julius Randle setting a double screen for Jordan
Clarkson before Randle sets another pick just for Kuzma, who would typically
have a good look at a 3-pointer.
It’s smart play design by Walton, but Taj Gibson is a smart, tough defender who
manages to stick onto Kuzma anyway.
So Kuzma, who is blistering hot at this point, decides to turn this into an
isolation opportunity. Gibson challenges as well as he could be asked, but
Kuzma’s knack for hitting under duress wins the possession.
Kuzma has been unconscious from downtown over the past week, hitting 56.4
percent of his 3-point attempts. Still, his greatest strength in the infancy of
his career is his ability to attack the hoop.
He didn’t do as much of that against the Wolves, but had a a veteran-like
highlight on a particularly impressive slash.
Here, he gathers the ball just inside the 3-point arc and sizes up Gibson. He
waits for the eight-year veteran to reach for a steal before punishing him by
ripping through and driving baseline.
Having toasted his man, all that’s left to do is finish. Kuzma does so with a
tricky, left-handed reverse layup off the glass.
Kuzma knocked down a season-high nine free throws on 13 trips to the line. While
many high-volume foul shooters earn their attempts with some acting, Kuzma got
his through some smart decision-making.
On this play, Minnesota aggressively tries to blitz Clarkson on the
pick-and-roll. Seeing this, Kuzma backs off to the side, giving JC an easy
decision.
Then he is greeted by Karl-Anthony Towns, a 7-footer who could potentially send
back Kuzma’s shot attempt. But Towns isn’t the most disciplined defender, so Kuz
puts him in the popcorn machine with a pump-fake, gifting himself two free
throws.
Kuzma’s biggest challenge of his rookie season has come on the defensive end,
where he had mixed results against Gibson (23 points, 11-of-13 FG).
But he showed intellect on a pair of particularly nice possessions that led
directly to points for the Lakers.
On the first, Gibson tries to post Kuzma up, but the 27th draft pick knocks the
entry pass away for a steal. He starts the fast-break himself, avoids Towns with
a wicked behind-the-back dribble and finds Clarkson streaking ahead for the
layup.
The second (sped-up) play is a blend of good post defense and playmaking.
It starts with Gibson putting a flurry of moves on Kuzma, who stays home at
first but eventually bites on a pump-fake. However, he is able to recover in
time for a block and brings the ball up the floor himself.
Then comes an example of something the Lakers have focused on all season:
slash-and-kick playmaking.
With assists leaders Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram out due to injuries, Kuzma
showed a nice bit of distributing with four assists.
Here, he drives on Gibson and draws Towns over to help before kicking out to
Larry Nance Jr. for the wide-open jumper. It’s a simple read, but one that will
be invaluable to Kuzma as defenses start packing the paint to prevent his
slashing.
Player: Kyle Kuzma
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/171226-kyle-kuzma-christmas
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers,
Minnesota Timberwolves
Media Thumbnail:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/lakers/sites/default/files/ts_kuzxmas.jpg
Story Link: http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/171226-kyle-kuzma-christmas
