Kyle Kuzma has solidified his case to remain a starter with Lakers
By Keith Rivas
Kyle Kuzma is turning out to better than anyone could have imagined, and it’s exactly what is saving the Lakers.
Without their star rookie forward, it’s hard to say that we’d be able to give the Lakers enough credit this season with what they accomplished in the off-season. All things achieved, acquiring Kyle Kuzma is perhaps their boldest move over the last three or four seasons.
Not only has he established himself as a premier scorer on the team, but he’s now definitely made a case for having him inserted into the starting lineup for good. Compared to what Larry Nance Jr. or Julius Randle bring to the table, Kuzma has the most upside at the moment and he’s doing everything he can to ride this wave of momentum.
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The latest example of this came in the Lakers’ six point victory over the streaking Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. Coming into the game, Houston stood as the best team in the Western Conference and also had a 14-game winning streak to go with it.
Los Angeles didn’t seem to care much, but that effort was largely thanks to a perfect shooting half from Kuzma, who ended the game with 38 points. The Lakers have hung in tough against the better teams in the league, and that says a lot for a team in their position.
If Kuzma can become any more dangerous than he already is to opponents, Los Angeles is going to have think long and hard about who they want at the center of their franchise. Should they go with the rookie who has shown he can play at an extremely high level and has more than enough confidence to do it consistently?
Or do they risk their marbles for a free agent like Paul George or another veteran player that could fill the position?
After beating Houston, the Lakers have a strong reason to believe that Kyle Kuzma is the key to figuring all of this out. Here’s why.