If the veteran who left the Lakers can always shine on other teams, then among the 3 players sent by the Lakers in the 2021 offseason deal involving Westbrook, Kuzma may be the one who shines the brightest today. He may be on the old path of Randall, Russell, Ingram and Lonzo Ball.
In today's Wizards' 124-121 win over the Hornets, Kuzma played brilliantly. He played 41 minutes and shot 13-of-26, including 6-of-11 three-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws, and exploded a team-high 36 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, setting a new single-game scoring record for the season.
In the fourth quarter, the Wizards played 40-31 to complete the reversal in one fell swoop, while Kuzma took the lead in the quarter and scored 14 points, hit four three-pointers, and joined hands with Beal, who scored 35 points, to break the opponent's defense.
Looking back at Kuzma's performance this season, the ups and downs are inevitable, but recently he can be described as full of firepower. In the last four games, Kuzma has averaged 28 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists, shooting 55% from the field and 42.7% from three-point range, and if it were not for the free throw shooting rate of only 72.2%, Kuzma could be among the "180 clubs". In addition, Kuzma also incarnated as "Mr. Key" this season, and according to statistics, his three-point shooting rate in key moments of the season (5 minutes in the final game, within 5 points of the point difference) was as high as 60%, almost twice his three-point shooting rate this season.
Speaking about his performance, Kuzma also said that he is now in a good situation with the Wizards, and the coaching staff and teammates are full of confidence in him, which makes him extremely happy. And these words in the ears of Lakers fans, may be a different taste.
So far this season, Kuzma has averaged 13.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from three-point range. This performance is undoubtedly stronger than in the 2020-21 season, in which rebounds and assists also set a new career record. Compared to last season, his true shooting percentage has declined despite little change in the number of shots. But beyond that, Kuzma is almost all about good news. His efficiency (13.4) is higher than last season's, and his rebounding rate (13.6%) and assist rate (13.1%) are both career records. It can be seen that Kuzma this season is already influencing the game in other ways than scoring.
Judging by the distribution of shots, Kuzma reduced his three-point shots this season. In the previous three seasons, Kuzma's three-point shooting percentage has skyrocketed, from 38.8% in 2018-19 to 50.2% last season, more than half; this season, his three-point shooting percentage fell back to 46.3%, correspondingly, the proportion of two-point shots stopped the downward momentum of three consecutive seasons, and this season recovered to 53.7%.
Previously, in the Lakers, some people in the industry have criticized coach Vogel's use of Kuzma, complaining that he should not let Kuzma stick to becoming a bottom corner battery on the offensive end. This season, Kuzma has increased the impact on the basket in addition to the three-point shooting, and the offense is more three-dimensional. The data also reflect this. From the rookie season to last season, Kuzmady's three-point shooting percentage soared from 18% to 29.5%, while this season it fell back to 25.3%, but the shooting percentage (37.5%) was the second highest in his career, after the ridiculously high 2019-20 season (54%).
Kuzma, meanwhile, stepped up his shots between 3 and 16 feet (about 1m to 5m) from the basket, hitting a career-high 34.4 percent of shots in the area. His shooting percentage (47.1 percent) in the 3-10-foot (about 1m to 3m) zone also tied the career record. The middle distance has also become one of Kuzma's killer moves today.
Looking back at Kuzma's NBA career, people have previously had the impression that he was "good, but not good enough", and the most criticized thing is that his growth rate is always not as good as expected, but it can often bring surprises. In the rookie season, as a rookie in the final round (27th pick), he made a big splash and replaced Ball, who was the best rookie on behalf of the Lakers (Ball was the second team).
In 2018, James traveled west, and the Lakers began to sprint for the championship. After James' groin injury ruined the Lakers' playoff hopes for the 2018-19 season, the whole team began a big shuffle, and years of young player reserves were almost swept away in the deal involving Anthony Davis, and Kuzma became the only remaining fruit.
Since then, Kuzma's career has entered a state of indistinct. He was lucky enough to win the 2020 championship with the Lakers, and also won a 3-year, 40 million contract extension in the offseason of that year, but the Lakers' wish to become the "third star" around the Zhan Mei group before the start of the season was ultimately disappointed. Finally, in the 2021 offseason, Kuzma followed the same path that his teammates had followed 2 years ago.
During this period, Kuzma was also endlessly caught up in comparisons with the same tanhua Tatum, and Lakers and Celtics fans also found new talk outside of the "yellow-green war". At this time, no one realizes that for a 27-rank rookie, can it be compared with the same year of Tanhua, is it not a success?
Perhaps, such a performance still can't send Kuzma to the All-Star, but kuzma's state now can indeed be described by the title of a song by Zhou Dong, that is: you are happier than before. (Supine Braces/Hairy)