Kyle Kuzma’s solution to Lakers’ struggles … is more Marc Gasol?
The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t playing their best basketball right now. Kyle Kuzma thinks the solution to that problem has been there since the beginning of the season.
Despite their two superstars returning from injury, the Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a slump. They have one win in their last seven games, putting them right on the edge of the play-in tournament the year after winning the championship. The road to a potential repeat has not been smooth. However, Kyle Kuzma thinks he might have an answer:
Kyle Kuma: "I'm not sure what to do. I wish we could get a little bit more time out there with Marc (Gasol). That'd be something that would be pretty good for us, for sure."
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) May 3, 2021
More Marc Gasol, baby. At the beginning of the season, Gasol was seen as more than a solid pickup. There were pictures of Gasol and LeBron James meshing with their high IQ games and making another run.
Since that point, however, he’s fallen out of favor. Gasol has only played in two of the Lakers’ last seven troubling games. The Lakers were a better team earlier in the season when Gasol was starting and getting about twenty minutes of play. Though his counting stats are largely down this year, is Kuzma right? Could it be that simple?
Kyle Kuzma has a fever and the only prescription is more Marc Gasol
It’s hard to say. With Montrezl Harrell, Andre Drummond, and Gasol, it feels like the Lakers should have a viable option at center no matter who is on the court. That doesn’t even take into account the minutes when Anthony Davis is at the 5, despite his distaste for the position outside of pure necessity. As he’s ramping back up from his injury, it’s likely that distaste is even more pronounced.
Regardless, the Lakers team we’re seeing now is not a team that looks like a favorite for another championship. Maybe things will sort themselves out as LeBron and Davis get closer to 100 percent. Or maybe Kyle Kuzma is correct about needing a rotation shakeup. Whatever happens going forward, hopefully, it’s different than this.