Getty Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma
Kyle Kuzma was locked in during the Los Angeles Lakers’ recent game against the Detroit Pistons. The second-year forward made sure the absence of superstar teammate LeBron James didn’t result in another tally going in the loss column Wednesday night. This was avoided thanks to Kuzma pouring in an impressive 41-point performance.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Lakers sent the Pistons home with a 13-point loss. To make it even more impressive Kuzma racked up the huge point total while playing just 29 minutes and shooting 16-24 (66.7 percent) from the field.
After the game, Kuzma took to social media and his post got some love from LeBron as well as Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (with some NSFW language), via CBC Athletes.
Kuzma, who was only playing in his second game after missing two straight with a back injury, simply went wild in the win. He also shot 5-10 from beyond the arc and while James’ absence has hurt the Lakers quite a bit, the 23-year-old made sure it was a non-issue on Wednesday night.
Lakers’ Outlook Since LeBron James Injury
James injured his groin during the Lakers’ Christmas Day matchup with the Golden State Warriors after playing just 21 minutes. While the team was able to keep rolling without their star and pick up an impressive 127-101 win, they hit a tough run immediately after.
Over the span of the next six games, the Lakers and their young core went 1-5 prior to the two victories they picked up this week. The first win for Los Angeles came on the road against the Dallas Mavericks and top NBA Rookie of the Year Award candidate Luke Doncic, followed by the win over Detroit.
Looking Ahead for Lakers & LeBron James
The latest update on James doesn’t exactly provide a massive amount of optimism, but there’s at least some reason to believe he’s getting closer to a return. The Lakers released a statement on Thursday revealing that he has been cleared to “increase on-court functional basketball movements.”
Unfortunately, it also points out that there will be another update on January 16, which means he’ll miss at least the next three games. If things were to go absolutely perfect, it would lead to James returning to the lineup on Thursday, January 17 for a road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the meantime, the Lakers will face the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls over the next five days without their star. From that point, it will just be a wait-and-see game to find out when James will return to action.
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