Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers plays in the same jersey number as does Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers. But the 25-YO still has a long way to go if he has to attain the level of Big Game Dame. 

The Lakers faced a shocking defeat against the Blazers in the low-scoring game 1 post-season match. LeBron James’ triple-double and Anthony Davis’ 28 points went down in the drain against Lillard’s squad. The Blazers are looking for an upset, while the Lakers would want to keep their hope of ending the 9-year title drought alive. It requires the young players like Kyle Kuzma to pull up their socks and play consistently well.

Kyle Kuzma is not pressurizing himself

Kyle Kuzma is playing in his third NBA season and the first-ever playoff. When compared to the last two seasons, his performance has downsized if numbers are to be believed. From 18.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg (2018-19) to 12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 1.3 apg (2019-20), he has averaged lower. One reason can be the eight fewer minutes that he is getting to play in the running season. 

It is only natural to feel the pressure if your team is one of the most popular teams in the world. But in a practice report interview, he calmly stated, “I slept good last night, it’s just Basketball. At the end of the day, you can’t… Obviously, it’s Playoffs, it’s high pressure but, it’s just Basketball. That’s kind of what I have came up with over in the past four months. You just kind of play the game, have fun. Just play with [a] competitive spirit, a certain type of enthusiasm. When we do that, we go out there, after a game, when you’re in bed, you can say that you gave it all, gave it all my effort, you can’t dwell on, we play it every other day so..”

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Taking one game at a time is the only approach that can work well for any team in such a competitive atmosphere.

Where is that pre-bubble luster disappeared?

The Lakers were winning at 76.10% before the bubble, which came down as they lost four seeding games. Their offensive rating is so poor that they could not make use of the defensive woes in the Blazers. The Lakers’ shooting slump continues as they’re still unable to pull up their offense.

In game 1, inexperienced forward rookie player Wenyen Gabriel was put in the starting five for the Blazers but the Lakers failed to capitalize on this opportunity. Shooting forward Danny Green proved to be yet another failure because he clearly could not make space for Bron and AD. Nor was he able to convert from down the line. LeBron is mostly double-teamed, and hence it’s important for others to back him if they need to prevent further humiliation.

Their next game at NBA Playoffs 2020 is on August 20 at 9 PM ET, ESPN.