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This season should be interesting for Kyle Kuzma. After a disappointing 2019-20 campaign, most people have tempered their expectations for the 25-year-old forward. In fact, expectations haven’t been this low for Kuzma since the Lakers selected him as the 27th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
But Kuzma also has the opportunity to carve out a bigger role for himself with the Lakers’ renewed roster, or at least a role that is more meaningful than the one he had last season. If Kuzma wasn’t sure how to do that earlier, you’re in luck.
After practice Saturday, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel outlined the areas he would like Kuzma to improve on this season, essentially giving him guidance for more time on the court.
“We want him to continue to improve his shooting on the perimeter, to be that kind of catch and shoot fast in his size that really gives us great offensive dynamics,” Vogel said. “Obviously, the decision making when the paint attacks is something that he will continue to grow with, and then defensively, I loved the effort he played with last year, and how he improved understanding coverage and angles and all that kind of stuff. stuff. So we want him to keep growing there too. “
Kuzma looked rusty in the Lakers’ preseason opener on Friday, but he looked more like the player Vogel has in mind on Sunday. At 39:41 against the Clippers on Sunday, Kuzma scored 25 points on 8-14 shots from the field and 4-7 shots from behind the arc. His 25 points were second only to Talen Horton-Tucker, who stole the show by scoring 33 points.
Kuzma doesn’t need to average 25 points per game to be effective, especially with two Sixth Man of the Year candidates on this year’s roster, but it would benefit him greatly if he rediscovered his 3-point hit from his rookie season. During his rookie season, Kuzma shot 36.6% from three-point range. Since then, he has only made 30.8% of his 3-point attempts.
If Kuzma can hit his 3s at a respectable rate and build on the growth he showed on the defensive side of the court last season, he will prepare for more playing time with Vogel this season and a good payday. in 2021, when he will have the opportunity to enter restricted free agency. If you don’t take my word for it, maybe you’ll take your head coach’s.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.
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