While the Los Angeles Clippers have been loading up on talent through trades and free agency over the past few weeks, one Los Angeles Lakers Lakers legend believes that the Clippers have a depth advantage over the Lakers, even though he still believes the Lakers have what it takes to win in a series.
Magic Johnson weighed in on where the Lakers are at during a public appearance at a McDonald’s event this past All-Star weekend in Chicago, where his appearance was caught by USA TODAY’s own Mark Medina.
“If you look at man-for-man, (the Clippers are) probably better than (the Lakers) in terms of the bench,” Johnson said Friday at a McDonald’s-sponsored event in downtown Chicago called “Black & Positively Golden.”
“But to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, to me they are going to be the key and they are going to have to dominate in that series. Then we’re going to need that third scorer.”
Earlier this season, LeBron said that the Lakers want Kyle Kuzma to be that third scorer for them.
“We want him to be that third scorer for us, consistently get to 18 to 20 points a night and more important you know, it’s just the efficiency right now that I love,” James said of Kuzma after their Dec. 28 game in Portland. “He’s just been very efficient mixing it up with his 3s, his paint touches. You saw it tonight on the break as well, just mixing it up.”
Kuzma has found it difficult to deliver in that role this season, mostly because his best position is a power forward, the preferred position of Anthony Davis. The best hope for a third scorer still remains Kuzma, despite a down season in which many a Lakers fan have soured on his game.
However, the Lakers’ reluctance to make a play in trades or in the buyout market should be a tell that they still believe enough in him to give him a chance to prove he can be the No. 3 scorer on the game’s biggest stage.
Kuzma is averaging 12.6 points and four rebounds in a career-low 24.7 minutes per game. However, his 3-point shooting is up a slight tick this season at 33.2%, up from 30.3 percent last season, in addition to increasing his rate of 3-pointers. Kuzma has taken 41.3% of his shots from the 3-point line up from 38.8% last season. Kuzma also rates in the 67th percentile in spot-up situations, which rates out as “very good,” according to Synergy Sports, scoring 1.061 points per possession in spot-up situations, which represent 28% of his offensive activity.
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