Kyle Kuzma: the Lakers’ other rising star of the preseason

Talen Horton-Tucker has been the talk of Tinsel Town lately, and with good reason. Less than a month away from his 20th birthday, Horton-Tucker looked like the Lakers’ best player in the preseason, averaging 23.3 points, 8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Yes, it’s just the preseason, but those numbers shouldn’t be completely ignored either.

However, Horton-Tucker isn’t the only Laker to impress in the preseason. Kyle Kuzma is off to his fourth year off to a great start, averaging 22 points per game on 46.7% shooting from the field and 47.6% shooting from behind the arc. Again, it’s just preseason, but the kind of confidence Kuzma has played with is something Lakers fans haven’t seen since his rookie campaign, particularly when it comes to his outside shots. That is not a coincidence.

Following the Lakers’ 112-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, in which Kuzma hit four 3-pointers on eight attempts, the 25-year-old forward explained why he thinks he has been so successful behind the arc in the preseason. .

“I just hit a lot of 3s in the short offseason,” Kuzma said. “You know, I’m just trying to understand my role. And one thing I might add that Frank [Vogel] I said at my exit meeting was to be able to shoot the move… Whenever I have an open gaze, I am shooting with confidence. “

Frank Vogel is pleased with what he’s seen of Kuzma during the first three preseason games, but Kuzma’s output hasn’t come as much of a surprise to the Lakers head coach: he knows what Kuzma is capable of and, most importantly, the amount of time you spend in your craft.

“What stands out is how hard he works,” Vogel said. “When you see a guy who works so hard, it doesn’t surprise you that he is successful on the court. He’s playing at a high level, he’s playing with confidence, he’s not really forcing any action. He’s shooting to the rhythm of the offense.

“I am happy to see him continue to grow. It’s going to be a big part of what we do this year. “

Photo by Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images

Kuzma was also supposed to play a big role for the Lakers last season, but he never fully settled into his role alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As a result, he posted career lows in minutes per game (25), field goal percentage (43.6%) and points per 36 minutes (18.4). Suffice it to say that last season was not the outstanding youth season that he envisioned for himself.

This season has the potential to be different. Kuzma now has a year of experience playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and a year of experience playing with Vogel, whom the Lakers brought in last summer. Kuzma was also able to participate in training camp, something that was not an option for him last year as he recovered from an injury sustained during his time with Team USA.

In other words, last season was an opportunity for Kuzma to learn as much as possible. Now, after using what he learned as he went along to contribute to the Lakers’ championship race, it looks like he’s ready to rebuild everything he learned and take another leap.

“He’s working it out,” Davis said of Kuzma. “You know, when ‘Bron came in two years ago, obviously’ Bron got all the attention and Kuz tried to figure out how to work with that, and then when I came in last year, he tried to find out. I think he’s doing a great job finding his role on this team.

“We want him to come in and be aggressive. He’s making the right plays, he’s reading defenses a lot better, even from last year. There are some plays in this game where he made a great pass. So keep learning the game and keep discovering your role on our team.

“You know, he developed his shooting tremendously from last year to this year just in summer, grinding. He’s been playing well this preseason and he’s only going to keep getting better. It’s going to be a great year for him. He’s going to play a bigger role for us this year, and we need him to continue doing what Kuz does. ”

Kuzma didn’t have much time to improve in the offseason, as the Lakers only had a gap of exactly two months between their last Finals game and the first game of their preseason schedule, but what little he could do in the little window was apparently enough to get Davis’s attention.

“I’m not 100% sure what I was doing at the time, but, I mean, you can tell the difference. Either he was working and he came to camp ready and better than last year, or he held back last year and just, you know, opened his game more this year, ”Davis said before letting out a laugh. “I’m not 100% sure.”

Photo by Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images

But for Davis, Kuzma’s seemingly sudden improvement is actually the culmination of all the things he has learned in his last three years in the NBA.

“The way he’s playing now, the game slowed down for him, and when you get into that fourth year, the game slows down: you read defenses better, you know your shot selection, you know where you get your shots, and he get it now.

“He’s playing a lot better, he seems better on the defensive end. He saved Kawhi the other game, he saved Booker tonight, or he started with Booker, so he’s getting those defensive replays too. Like I said, it will be a great piece for us and it will only get better. It is his fourth year. He is playing very well. He is finding his role and his niche in this team ”.

Kuzma is eligible to sign a rookie contract extension with the Lakers this month, but the deadline for him and Los Angeles to reach an agreement is December 21. If neither side can reach an agreement by then, the talks are “postponed” to now: Kuzma will become a restricted free agent next summer, and Davis believes Kuzma has a chance to increase his value between now and then.

“If he can keep playing the right way, he’s sure to have a great offseason next summer,” Davis said.

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