2018-19 Season talk: Should the Lakers Pick Josh Hart & Kyle Kuzma Over Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball?
LeBron hadn't started any season with 0-3 losing record since 2004, but the man just didn't have the ideal start to his dream collaboration with the iconic franchise.
In more ways than one, it was only fortuitous that their 4th matchup was stacked up against the not-so-challenging Phoenix Suns, who bailed them out of a 0-4 hole(which would have been made deeper with Rondo & Ingram out).
Their next game was against a team that was unbeaten and also, top of the league in defensive rating, the Denver Nuggets. And mind you, in today's NBA, where calls are getting tighter and refs are unyielding, winning games on defense is no joke.
But the tables turned and Lakers got their first win at home, going with James, McGee, Kuzma, Ball and Hart in the starting lineup. The Nuggets are a hard nut to crack. The game had more than 16 lead changes and it went down to the final few minutes until Lance made them dance, Ball made a stepback three, and the game was sealed.
Josh Hart & Kyle Kuzma ended with 12 and 22 points respectively, along with having three steals between them. Josh Hart is averaging 2.2 steals per game so far in the season, along with shooting 45% from downtown.
Kuzma has started 3 out of the 5 Lakers matchups till now and is averaging 20.4 points per game whereas Lonzo Ball has started the same number of games up till this point and is averaging just 11.4 points a game.
Of course, Ingram threw a punch in just his 2nd game of the season and got suspended, but even before he did that, he was not looking like the Brandon Ingram people talked about and expected to have a breakout season.
Sure it's too early to predict fortunes, but didn't the Lakers-Rockets brawl make one thing crystal clear? It is the reckoning that Hart and Kuzma are fitting in well with the run-and-hustle mentality required this season to overcome teams like the Nuggets. The game went back and forth for the majority of the portion and what kept the Lakers afloat was active transition defense and subsequently, fastbreak buckets.
I am not saying Hart and Kuzma have always been the best transition defenders on the Lakers roster. But what's pretty clear after the lineup shuffle is that they may be turning into one this season, and the Lakers need to cash-in on that before it's too late for LeBron.
The Lakers led the league in transition offense last season. With a young core around that likes to run and play fast pace basketball, the onus should be put on the baller who is showing positivity and aggression at that very moment, instead of waiting for your stars to burst open when they're comfortable.
Ingram was having trouble finding his rhythm already and after what he did during the Rockets game, didn't exactly inspire confidence about his focus. He might come back and score big buckets for LA, but until that happens, Walton should put the best group of men around James and just let it go.
Throwing in veterans like Stephenson and Rondo into the mix would never bother the tempo of the offense as they involve more cutters and shooters into the flow and spread the floor wider. What would be interesting to see is how or if Lonzo contributes heavily and in a game-winning way to this setup.
The guy has scored a combined 24 points and shot a combined 3-8 from behind the arc in both the Lakers wins. Need much more from the super-hyped 2nd overall pick from UCLA.
But nevertheless, As coach Walton preaches, "It doesn't matter who starts for the team, all that matters is who ends the game for us."
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