Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 8:21 pm Post subject: Kuzma the Kawhi stopper
Remember when Kuzma was a bad defender and a shoot first player? Well not he plays good defense and makes good decisions on the court. _________________ Coach Vogel, Kidd, Hollins
Max slot : Kawhi
He stayed down on the pump fakes. Only but on one in the first quarter today, iirc, and paid for it with a foul and stayed down after. Used his length really well. I was very impressed with Kuzma’s defense today.
Kuzma looked good - I thought he deserved more minutes. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
He stayed down on the pump fakes. Only but on one in the first quarter today, iirc, and paid for it with a foul and stayed down after. Used his length really well. I was very impressed with Kuzma’s defense today.
Frank Vogel’s specialty is verticality. Kuz has bought in! _________________ “You have to dance beautifully in the box that you are comfortable dancing in.” - Kobe Bryant
Kuz > Green on Kawhi. Kawhi blew past Green every time, it seemed. Kuz was remarkably disciplined, moved his feet, and contained him well, not going for the pump fakes after he gave up his dribble.
If Green ain't hitting threes or doing anything against Kawhi, his minutes need to be reduced in these games. I think the two major factors in the runs the Clippers made were Bron being off and Green just being a nothing.
Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 7428 Location: Making the games you play
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 8:42 pm Post subject:
TheBlackMamba wrote:
Kuz > Green on Kawhi. Kawhi blew past Green every time, it seemed. Kuz was remarkably disciplined, moved his feet, and contained him well, not going for the pump fakes after he gave up his dribble.
If Green ain't hitting threes or doing anything against Kawhi, his minutes need to be reduced in these games. I think the two major factors in the runs the Clippers made were Bron being off and Green just being a nothing.
I think its Kuzma being bulkier, its harder to slide around him when he is disciplined and stay in position
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29382 Location: La La Land
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 8:47 pm Post subject:
Kawhi draws fouls on his defender so well. But Kuz locked him up that second half even with the whistle happy refs. Proud of him. _________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
Kuz legit looked like an elite defender a few times tonight.
Don't expect him to sustain that over a full game but if he can give an efficient 18ppg and play great D dawn the stretch like that.. good lord that's huge for us.
Props to Kuz, Vogel, Handy, and whoever else has helped him get to this level.
Except Kuz can shoot. Well, and he’s not dating Former 2k girl Rachel Demita. 😂 _________________ “You have to dance beautifully in the box that you are comfortable dancing in.” - Kobe Bryant
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. _________________ KOBE
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 9:27 pm Post subject: Re: Kuzma the Kawhi stopper
Car54 wrote:
Remember when Kuzma was a bad defender and a shoot first player? Well not he plays good defense and makes good decisions on the court.
Hopefully it will be a distant memory . I always believed Kuz on his ability to play defense. It’s a process and he’s showing it albeit it’s just a one game and players are still rusty so to speak.
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.
Hey, if he can bring some heat from beyond the arc in the WCF or Finals (assuming we get there), the contract becomes worth it like it did with Metta. I just hope he can put up more of a fight against Kawhi defensively than he has to date. He's definitely more of a rhythm shooter than a pure shooter, though, which we've learned the hard way. When he's hot, he's hot, otherwise it gets ugly the rest of the time.
Kuz > Green on Kawhi. Kawhi blew past Green every time, it seemed. Kuz was remarkably disciplined, moved his feet, and contained him well, not going for the pump fakes after he gave up his dribble.
If Green ain't hitting threes or doing anything against Kawhi, his minutes need to be reduced in these games. I think the two major factors in the runs the Clippers made were Bron being off and Green just being a nothing.
I think its Kuzma being bulkier, its harder to slide around him when he is disciplined and stay in position
Good point. Kawhi actually isn't that quick, he's just so saavy with his footwork and ballhandling, with great strength for his size. Smaller guards are barbecue chicken for him. Kuz' size comes in handy, and I think he doesn't get enough credit for being stronger than he looks, especially guarding wing players (and not centers like Luke made him do...).
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.
Hey, if he can bring some heat from beyond the arc in the WCF or Finals (assuming we get there), the contract becomes worth it like it did with Metta. I just hope he can put up more of a fight against Kawhi defensively than he has to date. He's definitely more of a rhythm shooter than a pure shooter, though, which we've learned the hard way. When he's hot, he's hot, otherwise it gets ugly the rest of the time.
I think Green defense was good I think the calls was bad. Kawhi didn’t get around him he went through him. For some reason he can’t do that with Kuzma. Kuz is a threat to block his shot the same with Lebron. _________________ Coach Vogel, Kidd, Hollins
Max slot : Kawhi
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:07 pm Post subject: Re: Kuzma the Kawhi stopper
CRoost wrote:
Car54 wrote:
Remember when Kuzma was a bad defender and a shoot first player? Well not he plays good defense and makes good decisions on the court.
Hopefully it will be a distant memory . I always believed Kuz on his ability to play defense. It’s a process and he’s showing it albeit it’s just a one game and players are still rusty so to speak.
Actually the last 10 games prior to the lockdown he was very impressive on defense and I heard that echoed many times by some of the national commentators on various possessions. The stats bear it out as well.
What a lot of fans don't get is that Kuzma's game has really matured this year. We expected to see a 15-20ppg scorer but not much else. Rather, he has really improved his decision making and defense, which will make him even more vital down the stretch. Hopefully his shot is here to stay. If he can some how make his 3's at about a 40% clip or close to it, game over!
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.
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