Adore Talks Hoops

A Star Lands in New York

Sabrina Ionescu speaking during her Senior Night with Oregon. Photo Credit: Serena Morones of The Oregonian

With the number one pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, the New York Liberty selected superstar point guard from Oregon, Sabrina Ionescu. Ionescu finished her college career as the only NCAA player ever (men and women) to have 2,000 career points (2,562), 1,000 career rebounds (1,040), and 1,000 career assists (1,091). She is also the NCAA leader in career triple-doubles with 26 and holds the single-season record for triple-doubles with eight, which she did back-to-back during both her junior and senior year campaigns.

In college for her junior and senior seasons, Ionescu averaged 18.5 points on 48% shooting from the field and 41% from the three-point line, 8 rebounds, and 8.7 assists a game.

Ionescu during her game against Stanford after joining as the only member of the 2k 1k 1k club. Photo Credit: Sabrina Ionescu’s Twitter

What she brings to the New York Liberty is a generational talent at the guard position that can dominate in the pick and roll as well as create her own shot and create shots for others. She can be the help the Liberty needs in order to take strides to make the playoffs once again after missing the playoffs for consecutive seasons.

What Ionescu does in the pick and roll is amazing because of how she is able to utilize screens to her advantage. She consistently forces defenses to make a decision, where off of that, she makes the correct plays.

11-time NCAA Women’s Basketball championship coach, Geno Auriemma, has spoken on Ionescu’s ability to run the pick and roll and said that “She’s the best since Sue Bird.”

Here is an example of a textbook shot that is available during a pick and roll. Ionescu gets a screen and is facing drop coverage from the big in the paint.

Drop coverage is when the on-ball defender fights over the screen to stay with their man while the big drops back and prevents the guard from getting to the rim while also giving time for their teammate to recover. This type of pick and roll coverage gives up the mid-range pull-up jumper as an open shot a lot.

Even with her primary defender trying to recover in this play, the screen created too much space for Ionescu to work with and the mid-range pull-up jumper is a shot that she has worked on relentlessly, especially going into her senior year.

Ionescu is also good at reading different scenarios when a teammate sets a screen for her. In this next play, her teammate sets her a slip screen.

A slip screen is when the screener doesn’t absorb contact on the screen but slips out right before the contact in an attempt to cause a switch or miscommunication between teammates on defense.

Her teammate comes to set the screen, but then slips out which causes both defenders to drop back to guard the rim run, leading to Ionescu hitting the open three-pointer.

Switching defenders is another method teams use to guard the pick and roll. This happens to be another pick and roll coverage that Ionescu is completely comfortable with and can attack easily. In this play, she gets the big switched on her after the screen from her teammate. The issue with switching on defense is that most bigs are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with guarding perimeter players, so Ionescu goes right to work off the switch. She uses a pair of hesitation dribbles to get by the big’s hip and finishes the play with a floater at the basket over the last line of defense.

Ionescu is not just a threat to score when utilizing the pick and roll but is just as much, if not, an even bigger playmaking threat. Averaging a nation leading 9.1 assists her senior year, while also being the fourth-best in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, these stats show the material impact Ionescu’s playmaking ability holds.

Notice the presence she holds on the court; the entire defense has eyes on her as she runs this pick and roll. As she uses the screen, she immediately identifies the help coming from the weak side and makes the pass to her open teammate for three on the wing.

While Sabrina Ionescu is able to make use of the pick and roll to break down a defense, she is also able to create shots for herself. She is naturally adept at driving left and it allows for her to be an elite shot creator.

In this game against Indiana from her junior year during the 2019 tournament, her ability to go left creates scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates.

Ionescu feigns the hard drive right only to set up her true intention, go strong left, and finish all the way with her left hand. She does exactly this and has her defender playing catchup the whole play, leading to the and-one basket.

This play is a testament to Ionescu’s awareness of what defenses are trying to do and take away. She blows by her defender going left once again but this time the defense tries to stop her from getting all the way to the rim. Right as she notices this, she makes the bounce pass underneath to an open teammate.

This is a 1v1 situation where she just bests her defender. She hard dribbles to fake driving left, something she had been punishing them all game with, only to step back and hit her fifth three-pointer for the game.

To add-on to what Sabrina Ionescu brings to the court offensively, she is also a dangerous knockdown shooter. In her time at Oregon, she shot a blistering 42% from the three-point line on over five attempts per game.

In this play, Ionescu shows off her range and she also shows off her ability to move without the basketball. Ionescu sees that her defender is overplaying the screen on the wing so she goes to the ball for a handoff and screen from her teammate. The screen her teammate provides allows for all the space Ionescu needs to hit the deep three.

What puts a lot of Ionescu’s game together is her natural talent at finding open teammates and her ability to pass the ball.

Once again all five defenders have eyes on Ionescu and she makes them pay for being out of position with an amazing no-look cross-court pass over the defense right into her teammate’s shooting pocket. This pass is a lot more difficult than it looks, any less force on the pass slows down how fast it gets to the open teammate, giving the rotating defender time to recover. And if the pass is not right to her teammate’s shooting pocket and she has to bobble it, that is also more time for the defender to catch up and contest.

Here she finds herself caught in a trap as she goes baseline and even with limited real estate to work with, she is able to get the pass off from an awkward angle to her teammate. Just another example of vision and passing talent that cannot be taught.

Sabrina Ionescu’s four-year college run is the stuff of legend. Countless records, accolades, and highlights, Ionescu lit up the basketball world with her play.

While there may be questions about if her game can translate to the pace of the WNBA and how much she can really help the New York Liberty, Sabrina Ionescu’s game shows chances at a seamless transition with her ability to command the pick and roll as well her natural talent and ability to create plays for herself and others.

Mamba Throwback: “Somebody Wake Up Number 24.”

Kobe Bryant during his 65 point performance against the Trailblazers. (Getty Images)

Going into their game against a young Portland Trailblazers team (26-39), on March 16, 2007, the Los Angeles Lakers (30-32) were coming off a season-high seven-game losing streak, with only three wins in the previous 16 games.

During this seven-game skid, Kobe Bryant averaged 30.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists, on 42% shooting from the field, and a subpar 23% from the three-point line after averaging 34% from beyond the arc up to that point of the season. Bryant also served a one-game suspension during this losing streak against the Knicks for an inadvertent elbow on San Antonio Spurs guard, Manu Ginobli, the game previous.

With the team losing momentum and losing playoff position, the Lakers were in need of a win badly, so Kobe Bryant put on a show for the home fans by erupting for 65 points, second-highest of his career, in an overtime game and delivering the team’s first win since February.

Bryant carried the Laker offense by scoring more than half of the team’s 116 points. Bryant shot 23-of-39 (59%) from the field and was 8-of-12 (67%) from deep.

Kobe would start the game a bit slow out of the gate, with him making two of his only five shot attempts for the quarter, but in this game, Bryant heats up just when the team needs it.

In the second quarter Kobe torched the Blazers for 19 points and did so with unloading all the moves at his disposal; fall-away jumpers, buckets in transition, and deadeye catch and shoot three-pointers. The first points scored by a Laker not named Kobe Bryant in the second quarter would come at the 4:25 mark with a three-pointer from Maurice Evans.

Bryant was a nightmare in isolation specifically, scoring 17 points of his 65 points in these one-on-one situations. Some of the shot attempts he makes in isolation are just the most difficult shots possible and simply shots that are good defense, just better offense.

Here Bryant is pushed off his spot by his defender, Blazers guard, Ime Udoka, and immediately goes to work where he picks up his dribble, tries to get Udoka to overcommit and bait the foul with two pump fakes, but after he doesn’t commit, Bryant hits the tough fadeaway shot over the contest, nothing better the defender could have done other than blocking the shot.

Defensively, Kobe was still engaged with three steals in the first half and was active as much as possible on that side of the ball while still carrying most of the team’s offensive load.

Kobe Bryant being guarded by 2007 Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy. (Getty Images)

One of Bryant’s matchups was soon to be 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy, who in the month of March at that point was averaging 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists a game. Bryant when guarding Roy was aggressive and zoned in, getting two of his three steals on the young rookie.

In this play, Kobe is in deny ball position and then gets his hand on the ball off the lazy pass from Randolph, which leads to the easy layup.

When Bryant was guarding anyone not named Brandon Roy, he was more of what a football player playing free safety does; roving around trying to disrupt the opposing team’s offense by reading and reacting to plays and being an active help defender. He was able to do this because of his awareness of the skillset his matchups had as well as his trust in his abilities to recover and contest.

Here is an example of Bryant playing that roving help defender role. At the start of this defensive possession, Kobe’s matchup is Ime Udoka, who is primarily a catch and shoot player. As more motion occurs in the Blazers offense, Brandon Roy gets a screen from Blazers center, Jamal Magloire. Kobe then drops down to prevent the easy rim run for Magloire and then he tries to rotate over back to his man only to drop back to prevent Brandon Roy from having a clear driving lane. Smush Parker makes the smart rotation to Udoka and Kobe sees that and rotates to Smush’s man, Blazers guard Jarrett Jack, to run him off the three-point line and contest his mid-range pull-up, forcing a bad miss.

The start of the second half would be similar to the start of the first half, while Bryant was more aggressive and took more shots than he did for his slow start in the first quarter, he was a not so efficient 4-of-11 for the quarter and got his first rest of the game at the 1:22 mark of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter and overtime, Kobe Bryant closed the show in spectacular fashion.

Subbing back into the game with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter, Bryant dropped 24 points in the fourth quarter on 9-of-11 shooting and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from three.

The final 1:52 of the fourth quarter, with the Lakers down seven, Kobe went off with three straight three-pointers including a falling away three-pointer on Zach Randolph to tie the game.

In overtime, Kobe Bryant would begin to get double-teamed off the catch and still dropped 9pts with 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

Defensively, he was guarding Brandon Roy for the entire overtime period, forcing Roy to put up zero points on 0-for-3 shooting. In Kobe Bryant fashion, he would hit one of the most ridiculous shots possible to seal the game.

In this play, Kobe gets a screen from Maurice Evans as he cuts across and Roy switches onto Kobe who cuts to the right corner and is immediately double-teamed on the catch. Bryant attacks the double team with a nice nudge on one defender pivoting one way, then pivots the other way and hits the game-winning three-point field goal over LaMarcus Aldridge’s contest.

Kobe Bryant’s 65 point game against the Blazers would start a four-game streak of games with at least 50 points, something only Wilt Chamberlain had been able to accomplish.

In the postgame interviews, Bryant shared how much it meant just getting a win, and agreed to this performance being one of the most efficient of his career. But in the end, he only had one thing on his mind.

“My daughter is outside waiting for me,” Bryant said. “And I’m sure she doesn’t give a damn about what just happened. She just wants to watch Care Bears.”

Klay Thompson’s 60 Point Game: Offball Movement Clinic

Klay Thompson shooting over Paul George during his 60 point game. (ESPN)

Klay Thompson went off for 60 points in just 29 minutes during the 142-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers on December 5, 2016. This was the most points scored during the shot-clock era in under 30 minutes. This was also just the 4th time a Warriors player scored 60 points in their franchise history.

What is most impressive about this scoring performance is how Klay Thompson was able to have this 60 point game. Limited catches, limited with his time with the ball, but unlimited with his movement without the ball.

Klay Thompson shot 21-of-33 from the field, shot 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, played aggressively, and got to the free-throw line where he made 10-of-11 free throws.

Of the 21 field goals that Thompson made, 20 of them were assisted. Klay’s off-ball movement is what makes him so effective and dangerous especially within the Warriors system and the offensive weapons that compliment him.

The offensive nucleus of this 2016-17 Warriors team was made up of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and at the time newly acquired via free agency: former MVP from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant. Draymond Green was the swiss army knife of the offense with how he could quarterback the offense and help create shots for their best players. Zaza Pachulia was underrated in this aspect as well, with his ability to pass and get guys open with screens.

The threat of having three players that could register 40 points plus on any given night along with how the Warriors move with, as well as without the ball is what made this team arguably the best offensive team ever.

2016-17 Warriors starting lineup (Getty Images)

Klay Thompson tallied 40 points in the first half, which was the most any player had scored in a first half since Kobe Bryant in 2002-03 season. His scoring pace was at 2.07 points per minute and was only .01 behind the pace of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game, in which Wilt played all 48 minutes.

Unlike Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain, Thompson’s points did not come off of isolation plays or scoring the majority of his points with the ball in his hands, but from moving without the ball and getting to the spots he needed in order to be able to score off the catch for quick and easy buckets.

One way Thompson got easy buckets was off backdoor cuts, due to the fact that teams have to respect and pay attention to his shooting, which leads to them overplaying the three-point line and exposing the back cut. Thompson is also just naturally adept at catching when a defender is caught ball watching or being unfocused which also leads to these easy backdoor cuts.

In this play, we see an example of this with Monta Ellis overplaying the Zaza Pachulia handoff to Thompson on the perimeter as well as Ellis having his head turned away from his assignment which leads to the backdoor cut for the easy layup.

Another way Klay Thompson racked up the points was through scoring in transition. The Golden State Warriors that season were the leaders of scoring in transition with 24.7 points per game scored going from defense to offense, where teams can be caught scrambling to get into defensive position. Thompson was able to get 15 of his 60 points in transition, whether it was filling a lane to the basket or attacking the three-point line, transition scoring was just one of the ways he was able to scorch the Pacers that night.

Klay Thompson’s first basket of this game actually comes in transition, where the Pacers are scrambling to find matchups and no one keeps track of who has Thompson, leading to the open three in transition. Zaza Pachulia’s awareness with the screen also denies Myles Turner from rotating over to contest the shot.

Klay Thompson’s pure shooting ability, especially off the catch and shoot is what makes him a walking potential 40 point plus performance on any given night type of player. The Warriors do call plays that have Thompson run off screens to try to get open, but it is Thompson’s awareness and ability to move without the ball and relocate to better spots on the floor which allow for these ideal catch and shoot situations to materialize.

Here is a great play call where Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson are setting screens for Stephen Curry, but then Thompson flares out to receive a screen from Looney, leading to the catch and shoot wide-open three.

Klay Thompson’s 60 point performance is not just impressive because he was able to do so in under 30 minutes, but also because of HOW he was able to get to 60.

“It was crazy because he probably has the ball in his hand for probably not even two minutes in the whole game,” teammate Kevin Durant said. “He was catching, shooting, cutting.”

Klay Thompson had the ball in his hands for approximately 90 seconds and only dribbled 11 times on his makes from the field. To score so many points in such little time, off precision accuracy shooting from the field as well as from the free-throw line, along with the off-ball movement wizardry that Klay Thompson possesses is what put together this all-time great scoring performance.

Mamba Throwback: “He has more than Dallas has.”

Kobe Bryant celebrating after the third quarter of his 62 point game against the Mavericks. (ESPN)

The Los Angeles Lakers (14-11) played against the Dallas Mavericks (18-7) at home on December 20, 2005. The game was never in question, with the Lakers taking care of the Dallas Mavericks handily 112-90, but the real show to watch was Kobe Bryant. Bryant exploded for 62 points on 58% shooting from the field, 40% shooting from the three-point line, and did so in just three quarters. Another thing, those 62 points in three quarters, Kobe himself outscored the Mavericks.

This Dallas Mavericks team was no pushover either. In the 2005-06 season, this Mavericks team was in the top 10 in both opponent field goal percentage as well as top seven in opponent points per game. Along with that, they would go on to win 60 games in the regular season and eventually advance to the NBA Finals led by MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki.

As per usual with Kobe, he rose to the challenge of playing a great team.

Kobe Bryant with the reverse layup. (Twitter)

Kobe scored on the Mavericks in just about any way possible. He shot 18-of-31 from the field, 4-of-10 from three and was straight handing it to the Mavericks. Dribble pull-ups, spin moves, toe rip throughs into blowing by his matchup and attacking the basket, Bryant unloaded an arsenal of offensive moves on the Mavericks.

“He was giving us pull-up threes, one on five in transition scoring, he was on the block, he was making threes, he was making everything.”

Mavericks Superstar Dirk Nowitzki sharing his thoughts on Kobe Bryant 62 point performance. (Spectrum Sportsnet)

Kobe had 32 points at the half and his third-quarter 30 point scoring explosion is what sealed the game for the Lakers. Bryant shot 7-of-13 from the field for the quarter and shot 14-of-16 from the charity stripe. The scoring attack would come in bunches off of Bryant’s offensive aggression, especially in transition. Bryant ended the quarter with a catch and shoot three and with the Staples Center erupting in cheers over his performance. It was in all the cheers of the crowd that what Kobe had done was realized, he outscored the Mavericks after three quarters. The next question was: how many could he score?

Sadly for this game, we would not know because Kobe sat the entire fourth quarter. However, before the final quarter, Lakers Assistant Coach Brian Shaw asked Bryant if he would like to play and try to score 70.

“Nah I’m not going to go in,” Kobe said. “We don’t need it tonight, I’ll get another night.”

Coach Shaw’s response, “Man, you’re crazy.”

Kobe sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter. (FSN West 2005)

A month later, in a game against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant would go on to have one of the single greatest scoring performances ever with 81 points. Safe to say Kobe got it another night.

Thank You Kobe, My Hero.

Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant court-side for a Los Angeles Lakers game. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

Mourning the death of my hero has been one of the hardest days of my life. The news of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others passing away in a helicopter crash left me in absolute disbelief, and utterly devastated. Kobe Bryant was much more than a basketball player, he was a loving father, husband, and inspired millions of people across the globe.

Kobe Bryant was a 5-time NBA champion, 2-time NBA Finals MVP, 2008 NBA League MVP, 2-time Olympic gold medalist, 11-time member of the all NBA First Team, and 9-time member of the All-NBA Defensive First Team . These are just a few of the on-court accolades he has earned showing a true testament to the work Bryant put into his 20 year NBA career. His game had it all. From his signature post-fadeaway to his tantalizing ball-handling and playmaking, to his flashy dunks and finishes at the rim. He had a competitive drive and will to win like no other. That’s why sports fans fell in love with his game.

Kobe Bryant’s game winning buzzer-beater in Game 4 of the 2006 Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns. (Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Kobe Bryant’s approach to his post-NBA career was the same approach he had for his NBA career. He still was in relentless pursuit to reach the goals he sets for himself. Kobe Bryant had a passion for story-telling and knew that would be something he would be interested in following his NBA career. Bryant would go on to win an Academy Award for an animated short based on the retirement letter Bryant wrote on The Player’s Tribune titled, “Dear Basketball.”

Kobe Bryant after winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 2018. (Allen Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Kobe Bryant was my hero.

He was by no means a perfect person, in Bryant’s past, he had been accused of sexual assault in 2003, which led to a one-year court battle which the prosecution dropped in 2005.

Kobe Bryant was an imperfect person and this is known. I am not here to dismiss or deny the seriousness of his past, but even with all his imperfections and blemishes, the impact his life had on me and so many others is what I will remember.

Kobe Bryant is the reason I fell in love with basketball. He’s the reason I’m able to have a close relationship with my father, the reason I was able to decide to switch majors because of my love for sports and basketball and the reason I’m able to write about it on a platform such as this blog.

My fondest memories of Kobe Bryant will always be watching his games with my father. I am a Lakers fan because of my father, and his love for Kobe Bryant started when he first saw him play. My father thought, “Wow. He looks just like Michael Jordan out there, that’s the next Michael Jordan.” After that, he began to watch all the Laker games he could, and as I grew up, I would join with him. The games I vividly remember watching with him to this day are Game 7 of the 2010 Finals and the last game of his career. The joy I had watching these games with my father will be moments I will always remember and cherish.

Kobe Bryant celebrating his 5th championship against the Boston Celtics in 2010. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Kobe Bryant was able to motivate and inspire. For me personally, knowing the all the hard work and dedication my favorite basketball player put into his own craft to be the best at what he loved to do, inspires and motivates me to do the same in what I chose to do in life. It’s all part of the impact Kobe Bryant made that was so much bigger than sports.

Kobe’s Bryant’s impact reached us all. “Mamba Mentality,” is a phrase that is iconically tied to the Black Mamba, and it’s not just a catchy slogan, it is the legacy Bryant leaves behind. The mentality of having a drive, a focus, a determination to chase after whatever your goals may be. Kobe Bryant embodied this.

Kobe Bryant watching his number 8 and 24 jersey being retired by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017. (NBA on TNT)

“When I see people talk about finding inspiration in the Mamba Mentality, it makes all my hard work, all the sweat, all the 3 am wakeups, feel worth it.”- Kobe Bryant’s “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play”

Thank you, Kobe Bryant, for all the endless moments and highlights that brought me pure joy.

Thank you for being a source of inspiration and motivation.

Thank you for being my hero.

“Mamba out.”

Kyle Kuzma is Figuring it Out

Kyle Kuzma suffered a stress reaction in his left foot while playing for Team USA this off-season. This injury kept him out of action for the Lakers’ training camp, pre-season, and a few games into the regular season. In the games he has played since returning from injury, Kyle Kuzma has had bad games, as well as games where he was a big factor in a Lakers win. He is slowly but surely figuring out his role in the offense and how he fits in with this Lakers team.

Kyle Kuzma his first five games back from injury averaged 10.2pts, 4rebs, and 0.2asts a game while shooting 40% from the field, 20% from the 3pt line, and 60% from the free-throw line. Kuzma’s plus-minus (how the team played when a player is on the court) was a -4.4 his first five games.

Teams offensively would try to get the Lakers to switch on the pick and roll in order to have their best scorer trying to attack and exploit Kuzma’s defense.

His worst game during this stretch was at home against the Toronto Raptors, where he would have a plus/minus of -12 and when guarding Raptor’s forward Pascal Siakam, allowed 18 points on 7/7 shooting on a night Siakam shot 9/25 from the field.

Even during these games where Kuzma played subpar, he still showed flashes of what he does well. Great cuts to the basket leading to easy points, scoring and playmaking in transition, and the occasional spot-up 3pt shot going down.

Kyle Kuzma also showed flashes of his ability to score in bunches in his first few games back. In his third game back from injury on the road against the Chicago Bulls, Kuzma scored 11 of his 15 points in the 4th quarter, helping spark a 19 point comeback victory for the Lakers.

In his last two games, Kuzma has been averaging 22.5pts, 4.5rebs, and 1.0ast, with shooting splits of 57% from the field, 50% from the 3pt line, 87% from the free-throw line. Kuzma’s plus-minus was a +15.5 in this two-game stretch. These last two games Kuzma has been able to learn when and where he can be aggressive and has found his groove and rhythm on offense. He is getting his legs under him for his jump shot and free throws and he is taking better and more efficient shots from the field.

Kuzma hit two clutch 3pt shots in the final minutes of the game on the road against the Phoenix Suns and those 3s would be what closed the game out with a win for the Lakers.

At home against the Golden State Warriors, Kuzma earned his first start of the season, where he scored 22 points on 58% shooting from the field and made 3/6 of his 3pt attempts with a plus-minus of +21 in a 120-94 win.

There were questions and concerns about Kyle Kuzma’s early struggles, and with good reason. However, when asked by the media, Kuzma and the Lakers were unfazed by these struggles and were confident that he would be able to get back on track. While these last few games are a small sample size, Kuzma has shown that he can not only fit in on this team but be a real threat to score and score when the game is on the line. Kyle Kuzma coming back from injury and figuring out his role and expanding his game this season will be key to this Laker’s team aspirations for an NBA title.

What Kyle Kuzma brings to the Lakers

Photo credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Kuzma. Bring his name up in NBA circles, even amongst Laker fans and there will be a divide regarding their opinions on his game. Underrated. Overrated. No matter what your opinion is on Kuzma, the 24-year-old Laker as a former late 1st round pick has made a name for himself in the league and his play this season will be a large factor in how successful the Lakers will be this year.

When Demarcus Cousins suffered a torn ACL this offseason-on the same leg he tore his quad and achilles tendon after signing with the Lakers, expectations went to Kyle Kuzma to step up and play a huge role for the team.

The once surprising and bright prospect on the team now faces championship expectations and pressure to step up as the only member of the Lakers young core left standing after the acquisition of Anthony Davis earlier this summer. The question is: what exactly does Kyle Kuzma bring and need to bring to the table in order to help get the Lakers to the goal of an NBA championship for the first time since 2010?

Kyle Kuzma’s rookie season was a surprise for the Lakers, the 27th overall pick tallied up 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists while shooting 45% from the field as well as 36% from the 3pt line. His rookie year performance earned him 1st Team All-Rookie honors that season. Kuzma showed flashes of being an explosive scorer, most notably his career night against the Houston Rockets, where he dropped 38 points on 70% shooting from the field as well as 7/10 from 3. His ability to score in transition, spot up from 3, attack closeouts to get to the basket, and his finishing ability around the rim is what always makes him a threat to score.

Kuzma’s second season had its ups and downs, but he was able to still find success playing alongside LeBron James. Kuzma averaged 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 45% shooting from the field and 30% from the 3pt line. While Kuzma did have a dip in his 3pt percentage, Kuzma’s role on the team grew as the Lakers ran more pick and roll sets with him as the ball- handler rather than the screener, alongside pushing the ball in transition as a ball-handler and not just a wing filling a lane. Kyle Kuzma still showed his explosive scoring ability his sophomore season, in a game against the Detroit Pistons he would break his previous career-high of 38 points with a 41 point performance on 66% shooting from the field and 5/10 from the 3pt line in three quarters. An explosive scorer and improved playmaker, Kyle Kuzma’s sophomore year got lost in the season as the Lakers failed to make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year, even with the addition of LeBron James to the team.

This off-season, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Anthony Davis in a blockbuster trade for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and an abundance of draft picks. Following this trade, expectations for the Lakers were not to just make the playoffs but to be a real contender for the NBA championship. And when Demarcus Cousins went down due to injury, all eyes are on Kyle Kuzma to come in as a major piece to this championship puzzle playing alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

Kyle Kuzma has put in the work this offseason in order to be a force for the Lakers. He has been most notably used this off-season re-tooling and working on his 3pt shooting, which dropped 6% from his rookie to sophomore year. His 3pt scoring will be a major key for this Lakers team due to the open shots that will occur off the attention of LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ presence on the court.

What Kyle Kuzma brings to this Laker team is an effective scorer that can do so without needing to dominate the ball as well as relieve offensive pressure off of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. If Kuzma can shoot at a more effective rate than his sophomore year, teams will have to pick their poison between LeBron James and Anthony Davis working the pick and roll or leaving Kuzma open as a resulting of helping off him to contain LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Kuzma’s defense is something that could use improvement. When teams ran pick and roll sets if the Lakers switched, Kyle Kuzma would be the player teams exploited and took advantage of. Lakers’ head coach, Frank Vogel, known for his defensive-minded style will help Kuzma work on his defense and put him in situations where he can perform and execute well on the defensive side of the ball.

In order for the Lakers to reach their full potential this season, Kyle Kuzma needs to provide a strong and effective scoring presence behind as well as shoot efficiently from the 3 point line alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. An improvement in Kuzma’s individual defense will allow him to have a material impact on both sides of the ball. If Kuzma provides these improvements to his game it will allow him to take the leap he needs in order to become the Lakers’ third option behind Anthony Davis and Lebron James, and be the piece needed to make this Laker team a true contender.

Intro

Hello there, my name is Adore Berzamina and this is a little intro about me and this blog and the purpose of it. I am an MCJ Major with an emphasis in Multimedia Production and I am aspiring to be a sports journalist one day. Basketball is my favorite sport and love, it’s been something I’ve just been into ever since I’ve grown up watching Laker games with my dad. I am an avid Lakers fan, so this blog will have Laker posts but I will also be writing about the NBA as a whole. All support and love is appreciated as I just work on getting better at sports writing and slowly get towards my goal to cover and write for a professional team.

Much love,

Adore