Kyle Kuzma plays in first summer league game with the Lakers

Kuzma kicked off his NBA career Friday night with the LA Lakers in their summer league opener against the LA Clippers. Kuzma is in no way the headliner of the team, especially with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram playing, the last two No. 2 picks in the NBA Draft, but Kuz had a solid game overall.

He came off of the bench, and played 27 minutes, only Ball and Ingram had more, and pitched in 8 points on 3 of 8 shooting, while going 0 of 3 from downtown. That’s going to be key for Kuz, is him hitting the three on a consistent basis. He also had four rebounds to go with three assists. It’s nice for him to fill up the stat sheet like that, which will make him much more valuable to the club. How did Ball do, the fellow 1st round pick from the Pac-12? He shot 2 of 15 from the field, including 1 of 11, with five assists and three turnovers. Not exactly what you’d want from the face of the Lakers.

Speaking of Utah 1st rounders, Jakob Poeltl had a ncie game with the Raptors Friday. He had a double-double with 12 pionts and 10 boards on 6 of 8 shooting. Jakob appeared to be much more under control, and a lot stronger in his opening summer league game. That’s something he needed to work on, his strength.