{"id":132265,"date":"2025-04-01T16:47:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T20:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=132265"},"modified":"2025-04-01T16:47:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T20:47:44","slug":"kyle-kuzma-showing-bucks-something-lakers-fans-are-aware-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/01\/kyle-kuzma-showing-bucks-something-lakers-fans-are-aware-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Kuzma Showing Bucks Something Lakers Fans Are Aware Of"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> made a bold decision when they let go of longtime veteran Khris Middleton<\/a> to acquire Kyle Kuzma<\/a> from the Washington Wizards<\/a>. The front office hoped Kuzma would raise the team\u2019s playoff ceiling. They also sacrificed a first-round prospect, AJ Johnson,<\/a> in the process. So far, Kyle Kuzma has not lived up to expectations the Bucks placed on him and it’s a scenario Lakers fans may be familiar with.<\/p>\n

Kyle Kuzma Showing Bucks Something Lakers Fans Are All Too Aware Of<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kuzma\u2019s Shooting Struggles Continue<\/h3>\n

Kuzma\u2019s three-point shooting has been a major disappointment. He is hitting just 28.9% of his 4.9 attempts per game. Milwaukee expected him to provide floor spacing, but he has struggled to be a reliable deep threat. His overall scoring has also declined since joining the Bucks, dropping from 15.2 points per game in Washington to 14.6 in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

Lakers Fans Have Seen This Before<\/h3>\n

Lakers fans are all too familiar with this version of Kuzma. When LeBron James<\/a> arrived in Los Angeles, Kuzma was an emerging talent, averaging 18.7 points on 54.6% true shooting. However, when the Lakers won the championship in the bubble, his scoring dipped to 12.8 points per game. The following season, he managed just 12.9 points before being traded to Washington in the ill-fated Russell Westbrook<\/a> deal.<\/p>\n

The Concept of Kuzma vs. The Reality<\/h3>\n

Bucks fans are starting to realize that the idea of Kuzma is often more appealing than his actual impact. He is perceived as a stretch-four, yet his career three-point percentage sits at just 33.3% on 5.8 attempts per game. Milwaukee, like many teams in the modern NBA, relies heavily on floor spacing. Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> has fully embraced his inside dominance, attempting only 51 three-pointers in 61 games. The Bucks need shooters to open the floor, and Kuzma has not filled that role.<\/p>\n

Thrust Into a Bigger Role<\/h3>\n

The Bucks\u2019 situation has grown more complicated with Damian Lillard<\/a> sidelined indefinitely<\/a>. Kuzma has suddenly been thrust into a much larger offensive role. He is now attempting the second-most shots on the team in Lillard\u2019s absence. This was not the plan when the Bucks acquired him, and the adjustment has not been smooth.<\/p>\n

Defensive Contributions Since the All-Star Break<\/h3>\n

With his offensive struggles, Kyle Kuzma has mixed success impacting he Milwaukee Bucks’ defense since the All-Star break. Opponents at some point, shot just 36.7% from the field when Kuzma was the primary defender. In the three games following the break, this figure dropped to 27.5%, the best among players defending at least 40 shots in that span.<\/p>\n

Kuzma’s defensive assignments included notable players like Andrew Wiggins, Khris Middleton, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard, all of whom struggled against him. His versatility allowed him to guard multiple positions effectively. However since the All-Star break, the Bucks’ defense has gotten worse, ranking 16th<\/a> in the league, down from 11th<\/a> for the season.<\/p>\n

While Kuzma’s output on both ends remains inconsistent. His defensive efforts could provide substantial value to the Bucks but it’s not consistent. The idea of what Kuzma can be on paper for the Bucks is looking like a farcry from what the reality of his time on the Bucks could be, a predicament lakers fan are all too aware of.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Credit: \u00a9 Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Milwaukee Bucks made a bold decision when they let go of longtime veteran Khris Middleton to acquire Kyle Kuzma from the Washington Wizards. The front office hoped Kuzma would raise the team\u2019s playoff ceiling. They also sacrificed a first-round prospect, AJ Johnson, in the process. So far, Kyle Kuzma has not lived up to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":132274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,26,15],"tags":[49979,187,2951,306,324,1128,4745,1382,3009],"class_list":["post-132265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-bucks","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-damian-lillard","tag-defense","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-khris-middleton","tag-kyle-kuzma","tag-nba-injuries","tag-nba-trade","tag-three-point-shooting"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132265"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132276,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132265\/revisions\/132276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}