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Kyle Kuzma embraces doing Lakers’ dirty work

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Kyle Kuzma had a shot to steal the headlines on Wednesday night. Left wide open on the baseline with 28 seconds left in regulation and the Lakers trailing by one, he attempted the potential game-winner from 11 feet out.

In a world that celebrates scoring, all he had to do was make it and he would have been the story of the game.

He missed.

But after the game had ended and the Lakers had won (again) in overtime, Kuzma’s fingerprints were all over the victory in ways that have become familiar in his fourth season.

Kuzma’s individual defense shut down Oklahoma City’s leading scorer for the night, Kenrich Williams. He forced a turnover when he denied Darius Bazley a driving lane and steered the Thunder forward out of bounds. He plucked a deflected pass out of the air to start a fast break that resulted in him scoring the layup with 4:59 remaining to give the Lakers their first lead of the game. Three minutes later, Kuzma muscled his way into the paint for an offensive rebound and putback that broke a tie.

Throughout the first 26 games of the season, the Lakers have demonstrated in ways both big and small that they have the characteristics necessary to repeat as NBA champions — from LeBron James’ determined MVP campaign to the mature, team-first manner in which veterans Markieff Morris and Wesley Matthews recently responded to being benched. But perhaps most notable of all has been the transformation of the 25-year-old Kuzma from a volume scorer to a defensive stopper and determined rebounder. He’s a role player reveling in the kinds of effort plays that define title-worthy basketball.

“I’ve been in the league for four years,” Kuzma said last week in an interview with The Athletic, “and I think the No. 1 thing I’ve learned is adapt to survive.”

5 Things: Let’s Skip OT from here on out

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Well…at least they’re wins. Not much great to say about the game against OKC. We won being the best of the superlatives. Lets dig in and look ahead. Maybe playing a tougher opponent will act as a beacon in the fog for the Lakers general lackluster play of late.

  1. Gonna kick this off with a tip of the cap to the Thunder. They played us tough in every game this season, we swept them (as we ought) and in the doing the plucky squad from Oklahoma earned the respect of none other than the King himself. James had praise for how well the Thunder are coached, how hard they play and in Horford they have a solid vet to help this talented and raw team of youngsters take the step in a season or two to playoff contention. They suited up 8 players and it still took OT for us to win. To me that says as much about their talent and skill as it does about our inability to play with energy consistently.
  2. 41. The much too high number of minutes LeBron James played. Even had we not played OT the 36 he would have played would have felt high after the double OT win against the Pistons followed by the OT win against OKC on Monday. In the name of the playoffs and by Adam Silver’s glasses, let’s get that number under The Captain’s jersey #, 33.
  3. How long do we stick with KCP in the starting line up? Whether it be Matthews or THT who replaces him I am more and more of the opinion that Kentavious needs to get his ankles right. He’s not moving with ease, tweaked his ankle again on the first play of the game and in general looks nothing like the clutch playoff performer we saw a few months ago. I’ll never use his corporate fast food inspired moniker, professional athletes (hell, professionals in general) deserve better than that. I’d rest him the week leading up to the ASB. Give him two weeks to get treatment, get the ankle right and recalibrate for the second half of the season. In my opinion we should start THT, see what he can do but in reality it would more likely be Wes Matthews. Either one would work for me. We’ll need Caldwell-Pope in the playoffs, we have options to cover for his absence during the regular season.
  4. You are who you are. I’m coming to a peaceful play where I accept, or at least don’t overtly gripe, about the Lakers turnovers. James averages 3.5 for his career, he’s at 3.7 this season. THT is learning and is going to cough it up. I’ve had the longstanding opinion that KCP is good for one wholly unforced turnover/game and the Lakers are getting every team’s best effort on D. All of that equals turnovers to the tune of 14.4 turnovers per game. Good for 5th most in the NBA. What I am not going to abide and will overtly gripe about, however, is the complete and utter lack of paint defense we have. This isn’t such a big deal in the regular season. I think it could end up being a major weak spot in the playoffs when teams look to force even more action in the paint. If you’re going to cough it up a lot you have to counter by forcing stingier shots.
  5. We’re witnessing the best overall season of basketball by Kyle Kuzma. Some may disagre, point to the fact that his scoring has dipped in each season he’s been in the NBA. For my part, I can’t say enough about how impressive I think Kyle is playing these days. He’s rebounding with toughness and focus to add to the better defense and team play on offense he’s added in the last couple seasons. He starts well called upon to do so but still excels in his role off the bench. He’s filling in and supporting his superstars which is all you can ever ask a role guy to do.

We’re coming to the end of the 1st half of the NBA season. Below are my predictions for the remaining eleven (sorry Gerald, but I’m in full Admiral Akbar mode these days):

Fri, Feb 12vsMemphis W7:00 PM
Sun, Feb 14@Denver L7:00 PM
Tue, Feb 16@Minnesota …W? Nope, L5:00 PM
Thu, Feb 18vsBrooklyn W7:00 PM
Sat, Feb 20vsMiami L5:30 PM
Mon, Feb 22vsWashington W7:00 PM
Wed, Feb 24@Utah L7:00 PM
Fri, Feb 26vsPortland W7:00 PM
Sun, Feb 28vsGolden State W5:00 PM
Tue, Mar 2vsPhoenix W7:00 PM
Wed, Mar 3@Sacramento W7:00 PM

7-5. I think we’ll sputter to the finish line because we looked utterly gassed these days. Hopefully they’ll do better than my pessimistic take. A lot depends on when/if we get Anthony Davis back for any of these games. I think he’ll sit tonight to be (hopefully) fully healthy for Denver. Go Lakers.

Three Reasons Kyle Lowry Mega Trade Guarantees Lakers the Championship

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The Lakers don’t need a trade to repeat as champs but the chance to make a mega trade for All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, modern young center Chris Boucher, and young shooting guard Terrence Davis is too good to pass up.

Here are the details of the proposed trade. The los Angeles Lakers receive Kyle Lowry, Chris Boucher, and Terrence Davis. The Toronto Raptors receive Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell.

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While giving up three proven young stars like Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell is an expensive price to pay, landing Lowry, Boucher, and Davis could fill three major holes in the Lakers’ roster. The Lakers need a third superstar to reduce reliance on LeBron James and Anthony Davis, proven shooters willing to take and make more threes, and better rim protection and 3-point shooting from the center position.

This trade would give the Lakers a highly coveted third superstar in Lowry, three accurate and prolific 3-point shooters in Lowry, Davis, and Boucher, and a modern young center in Boucher who can rain threes and block shots. With the Clippers, Nets, 76ers, Jazz, Bucks, and other competitors looking for ways to improve their rosters at the trade deadline, this is a dream trade opportunity the Lakers should jump upon immediately if available.

Few trades are wins for both teams but this could be the exception as the win-now Lakers get the third superstar, shot blocking, and 3-point shooting they need while the rebuilding Raptors land three promising young stars.

1. LONG NEEDED THIRD SUPERSTAR

Kyle Lowry is a perfect fit as the third superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The 34-year old,16-year veteran All-Star guard is the playmaking, elite 3-point shooting point guard the Lakers need.

The 6′ 0,” 196 lb Lowry would be a major upgrade over Schroder at both ends of the court. He’s averaging 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists on 34.7 minutes per game while boasting 3-year best 43.3 /38.2/87.3% shooting. Meanwhile, Dennis is averaging 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 31.5 minutes per game, shooting 44.1/31.0/82.5%. He’s special but not the proven playoff tested 3-point shooter and defender Lowry is.

Lowry’s championship resume and playoff experience, gravity as a prolific and accurate 3-point shooter, and across-the-board superiority are exactly what the Lakers need as a third superstar to optimize LeBron and AD.

2. MORE 3-POINT ATTEMPTS AND MAKES

The additions of Lowry (38.2% on 7.5 threes per game), Davis (40.3% on 3.5 threes per game), and Boucher (43.8% on 3.6 threes per game) will go a long way towards improving the Lakers’ weak 3-point shooting performance.

Right now, the Lakers rank 26th in 3-point attempts at 30.3 per game and 13th in shooting percentage at 37.1%. Lowry, Davis, and Boucher took 14.6 threes per game compared to just 6.9 threes for Schroder, KCP, and Harrell. Taking 7.7 more threes per game would elevate the Lakers attempts to 38.0 per game, jump them to 7th in the league, and create needed spacing for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the other teammates to attack the rim.

The biggest weakness of the Lakers 9th ranked offense is 3-point shooting. Swapping Lowry, Davis, and Boucher for Schroder, KCP, and Harrell could give the Lakers a top rated offense to go with their top rated defense.

3. RIM PROTECTION AND SPACING AT CENTER

Chris Boucher is exactly what the Lakers need to fix their center problems. He’s the perfect modern center who can stretch the floor to create spacing on offense and protect the rim and defend on the perimeter on defense.

The 28-year old, 6′ 9,” 200 lb Boucher is averaging a career best 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 23.2 minutes per game. He’s the perfect center to backup Marc Gasol and eventually take over as the Lakers’ starter. While he’s only played 116 games in his career, Chris is enjoying a breakout year with the Raptors, shooting a red hot 43.8% from deep on 3.6 threes per game, which is a monster jump from the 32% he shot before this season.

A bouncy athletic jumper, the untested Boucher is a totally different kind of small ball center than the proven Harrell but his ability to protect the rim and shoot the three ball make him a better center prospect for the Lakers.

Trading Schroder, Harrell, and Caldwell-Pope would be a dramatic move for the Lakers but worth it to acquire a third superstar in Lowry, three great shooters in Lowry, Boucher, and Davis, and a modern center in Boucher.

With a starting lineup of Lowry, Matthews, James, A. Davis, and Gasol and a deep bench of Horton-Tucker, Caruso, T. Davis, Kuzma, and Boucher, the Lakers would be heavy favorites to repeat as 2020–21 NBA champions. Meanwhile, the Raptors add a lightning quick point guard in Schroder to replace Lowry, a dynamic young center in Harrell to replace Boucher, and a proven shooting guard in KCP to upgrade Davis off the bench.

While the Raptors revitalize their team with proven young talent, the Lakers get what they need to optimize LeBron’s championship window and repeat this season as NBA champs and possibly threepeat next season.