Kuzma the Kawhi stopper
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J.C. Smith
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:23 pm    Post subject:

Kuzma played a nice game tonight.
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hype
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:41 pm    Post subject:

pjiddy wrote:
just rewatched the 4th (which missed while at work) and Kuz's hips just move so much better now. He was clearly doing squats and agility drills over the break because he looks like a totally different person, ahem, below the waist.


Yeah, he moves so much more smoothly now. I'm not sure how much credit goes around but Vogel and his staff has clearly done an outstanding job along with obviously Kuz.

I'm hard on him at times because it feels like i've seen him show glimpses for stretches many times but then he disappears again. Now, he has shown much more consistent hustle, bb iq and just pure fundamentals over the last 20 or so games going back to before stoppage then he ever showed prior. He has shown several times now this season that either him lebron or ad should be on Kawhi at all times imo. Hopefully his play (im mostly talking outside of shooting) stays at a high level and he can continue affecting the game in many ways outside of his shooting and it takes the Lakers as a whole to an entire other level.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 11:12 pm    Post subject:

Loved his game tonight.

Really, really impressed with the D in this one.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 1:38 am    Post subject:

jonnybravo wrote:
calistrtballr wrote:
He brought his A game today. Green was awful


I've been trying to hang in there with Green but I think we're going to see more awful games than good games for his time here. He just might be cooked. Just hope he hits a couple of clutch 3's on our way to the chip.



let's better not count already with the chip. We have to play a few games more...
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 2:26 am    Post subject:

pjiddy wrote:
just rewatched the 4th (which missed while at work) and Kuz's hips just move so much better now. He was clearly doing squats and agility drills over the break because he looks like a totally different person, ahem, below the waist.


I wouldn't be surprised if he feels healthier now than the last time we saw him. Time off does the body good. If you stay sharp.
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drae
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 3:09 am    Post subject:

kikanga wrote:
pjiddy wrote:
just rewatched the 4th (which missed while at work) and Kuz's hips just move so much better now. He was clearly doing squats and agility drills over the break because he looks like a totally different person, ahem, below the waist.


I wouldn't be surprised if he feels healthier now than the last time we saw him. Time off does the body good. If you stay sharp.


I think so too

Looking forward to Kuz in the playoffs!
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Baron Von Humongous
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 3:26 am    Post subject:

Props to Kuz for putting in the hard work to improve on defense and credit to Vogel(?) for figuring out that Kuz has talent as a big wing iso defender.
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lakurluv
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 4:52 am    Post subject:

Kuzma was impressive defensively, which is a good sign. He did well with staying in front of Kawhi and altering his decision on the offensive end.

His shot selection and choices were night and day different in this game. Kuz, showed growth tonight and if he can stay consistent the rest of this year, teams should be very concerned!
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yinoma2001
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:19 am    Post subject:

Very impressive showing last night. Much more poise and control. His defense was amazing to see. Had a few pump fakes he bit into but towards the end he wasn't being fooled.
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AFireInside619
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:23 am    Post subject:

I remember when LG gatekeepers such as myself would complain about starting new threads but damn OP, you are so right! Kuzma is a Kawhi stopper! And Lakers basketball is back! It’s 7 am and I’m awake doing the Shawn Merriman steroid sack dance! Let’s (bleep) Go!
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:33 am    Post subject:

That's how you do it, kid!!!!
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LakerLanny
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:36 am    Post subject:

With Kawhi, they just need to figure out a way to keep him off the line.

He is getting loads of FT attempts vs the Lakers.

Kuzma did a nice job on him last night, he played with focus. He knows this is a whole different deal this season.
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PayasoLoco
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:48 am    Post subject:

Gotta admit his D on KL has been great last 2 games. As a kuz hater will gladly eat crow for more nights were he plays hard def and hits 3s
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yinoma2001
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:56 am    Post subject:

He's got nice size and length to be a big wing stopper. When we got Morris, that was what I thought we were going to do with Kuz. Deploy him in this capacity. Good to see it's working out.

I think someone correctly pointed out he skips too much on defense meaning he's prone to being crossed over or biting on pump fakes. Looks to me he's worked on reducing that.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:04 am    Post subject:

Being less jumpy on defense so he can actually keep a center of gravity on the floor goes a long way. Better technique to keep up and a center of gravity to actually absorb chest bumps, along with being A LOT more vertical on shot contests without drawing a foul is massive.
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Luminous8
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:15 am    Post subject:

I’ll hold my judgement. Too many times I’ve seen this dude have 5 game stretches of terrific defense then go back into Kuz mode.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:23 am    Post subject:

Rewatched the 4th quarter, takeaways:

- Kuzma was guarding PG from the start of the 4th til about 8 min mark, and did a good job, PG couldn't get a shot up against Kuz.

- Kuzma when he switched to Kawhi after the 8 min mark, also did a good job, Kawhi's shot against Kuzma were all contested and missed them.

- Clippers didn't go on their 4th quarter run until Kuzma was subbed out until under the 4 min mark, that's when PG started hitting shots against Green, and Kawhi being guarded by KCP.

- Once Kuzma enters the game again and was put on Kawhi in the last 2 and half minutes, Kawhi couldn't even get a shot up, couldn't even foul bait Kuz to get to the free throw line, even when he drove to the paint had to alter his shot midair to a pass.

- LeBron also did a good job switching with Kuz on Kawhi in the final minutes to keep Kawhi from getting a shot up.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:34 am    Post subject:

Jordan-esque wrote:
Rewatched the 4th quarter, takeaways:

- Kuzma was guarding PG from the start of the 4th til about 8 min mark, and did a good job, PG couldn't get a shot up against Kuz.

- Kuzma when he switched to Kawhi after the 8 min mark, also did a good job, Kawhi's shot against Kuzma were all contested and missed them.

- Clippers didn't go on their 4th quarter run until Kuzma was subbed out until under the 4 min mark, that's when PG started hitting shots against Green, and Kawhi being guarded by KCP.

- Once Kuzma enters the game again and was put on Kawhi in the last 2 and half minutes, Kawhi couldn't even get a shot up, couldn't even foul bait Kuz to get to the free throw line, even when he drove to the paint had to alter his shot midair to a pass.

- LeBron also did a good job switching with Kuz on Kawhi in the final minutes to keep Kawhi from getting a shot up.


Pretty much. Vogel tries to steal as many minutes as he can without putting Lebron/AD on Kawhi and to a lesser extent PG.

This is why the emergence of Kuz being able to defend Kawhi or PG is a huge deal.

We need Green to step up and he knows it. We all love KCP, but he shouldn’t be defending Kawhi or PG.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:44 am    Post subject:

Luminous8 wrote:
I’ll hold my judgement. Too many times I’ve seen this dude have 5 game stretches of terrific defense then go back into Kuz mode.


Kuz has the talent to be a bigger better Rick Fox. He is getting there mentally. People forget the mental weakling Fox was especially in his Celtic years where he was so afraid to make mistakes that he would constantly make mistakes in crunch time.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 7:59 am    Post subject:

First half not so good. He was being hunted by PG on pnrs it seemed.
Second half, he did well. Great to see.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:22 am    Post subject:

Kuz has worked on his game over the lockdown , but more importantly he got a free training camp which he missed at the start of the year due to injury.

Even his understand with Waiters was really good. Seemed like both benefitted from the training camp.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2020 5:05 am    Post subject:

https://twitter.com/pickuphoop/status/1285259831348211712?s=19
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epic_
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2020 6:27 am    Post subject:

Texas_Pete wrote:
https://twitter.com/pickuphoop/status/1285259831348211712?s=19


Great to here!
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:50 am    Post subject:

Texas_Pete wrote:
https://twitter.com/pickuphoop/status/1285259831348211712?s=19


Good find, Kuz moving his feet and contesting nicely!

He ended up being the keeper of the young guns.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2020 8:17 am    Post subject:

Kuzma defense video.


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