Los Angeles Lakers: Three New Year’s resolutions for the team

Make Kyle Kuzma the number one scoring option — period

Perhaps the biggest issue you should have with the Lakers right now is the fact that they didn’t give Kyle Kuzma his rightful place for too long. The kid has been playing lights out, better than even Lonzo has so far, and has thrown himself right in the mix and conversation of Rookie of the Year.

He’s averaging a hair under 18 points per game, which leads the team, and he is 1/5 of a rebound away from besting Lonzo Ball in that category also. He’s making incredible strides coming from the University of Utah, and the Lakers better realize sooner than later how important he really is.

The reason they need to make him the leading scoring option is simple. Brandon Ingram was thought of highly by Magic Johnson over the summer to the point where he believed that Ingram would be the team’s best scorer.

Meanwhile, Kuzma has taken over that role rather dominantly, and giving him more shots — which he has no problem taking — gives Ingram more time to find his game and rhythm to become a star.

Part of me feels that this speaks to the abilities that can come from not just doing one year at the collegiate level, as both Ball and Ingram chose to do at UCLA and Duke, respectively. Kuzma spent a full four years with the Utes developing his game, and it’s paying incredible dividends already early on in Los Angeles.

If they want to really compete with the best teams in the NBA right now, it’s also a logical move if you want what’s best for Lonzo Ball. Should Lonzo be anywhere close to as good as some people and his father say that he is, the chemistry that comes with feeding Kuzma the best looks during a game are beyond valuable.

Next: Three Things To Know About Rams vs Falcons

It’s a win-win if they do this, and it’s kind of a shocker they’re still not sold on doing it already.