While Kyle Kuzma’s ill-fated dig at the lowly Detroit Pistons is the most memorable part of his season, it’s far from the most meaningful.
Tasked with being a team’s first scoring option for the first time in his career, Kuzma averaged 22.2 points and 4.2 assists per game on 46.3 percent shooting from the field. It wasn’t always pretty, with Kuzma having trouble scoring against a couple of the top teams. To that point, of the eight teams he averaged fewer than 20 points per game against, six made it to the playoffs.
Furthermore, Kuzma was unreliable from 3. Despite making 2.2 3-pointers per game, he connected on just 33.7 percent of his long distance calls. Considering that he only made one-third of the shots that constituted one-third of his field goal attempts, it would probably be better for him to cut those attempts down. At 29 years old, he could still theoretically improve in that area. However, he’s made 34.1 percent of his 3s or fewer in five of his seven career seasons. It just may not be in the cards for him.
Kyle Kuzma Opens Up About Offseason Goals
During his team’s exit interviews, Kuzma was asked about what he would like to improve on this offseason. Had he said his 3-point stroke, it would’ve been understandable. Had he said his defense, it might’ve been met with applause from Wizards fans.
Instead, the Flint native offered this fascinating answer (per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network):
“Just being in a whole different caliber of shape. I think if I could change something this year, I’d probably just be in a different type of shape and conditioning. I don’t think I necessarily realized how with being at the top of the scouting report and people are trying to stop you every night, it’s a lot. I had to do a lot this year from the standpoint of usage. Understanding that you have to be able to still keep that up all 48 [minutes], I’m going to take it upon myself to be in really good shape.”
Hughes notes that Kuzma led Washington in usage (29.7 percent), miles per game (2.71), and total miles (173.2) last season.
It isn’t like Kuzma was lazy or out of shape. However, opponents throw the kitchen sink at great scorers. Averaging over 21 points per game in back-to-back seasons, teams respect his ability to put the ball in the basket. He’s athletic, nimble, confident and can score from four levels considering his shooting range.
To Kuzma’s point, it can be difficult to score consistently throughout an entire game. In their effort to do so, a player’s conditioning level is a valuable tool. That said, Kuzma tended to fade late in games.
The Trend is Clear
This season, he averaged 12.1 points per game on 53.8 percent shooting from the field in the first half. In the second half, he averaged 10.7 points per game on 44.2 percent shooting from the field. He averaged 5.2 points per game in the fourth quarter, his lowest scoring average in any quarter. Stats don’t tell the full story but the trend is clear.
Working on his conditioning might only lead to a modest increase in his scoring average. As the Wizards lost by an average of 9.3 points per game, the team won’t be doing a 180 just because Kuzma’s in better shape, even when factoring in how it may improve his defense. Nonetheless, they should be able to improve upon their franchise-worst 15-67 record.
