will kuzma be an all star for lakers or just a good role player?

[BEazy]

He missed the entire training camp. Obviously he's going to look lost out there. I want to keep Kuz by any means. Would be a big mistake trading him.

Everybody has good things to say about him. Even Pop said Kuz reminds him of a young Ginobili. Just give the kid some time to get back into shape...

[NippySudz]

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[NippySudz]

He did well tonight. Give credit to kuz. He decided to okay his game instead of shooting contested jumpers all the time.

He even hit some big threes

I still think he's going to be inconsistent. He should play well tomorrow . I mean it's the warriors.

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[stan francisco]

Very fair point. We could use a guard that can finish at the hoop and hit the 3 consistently. Not sure we have that in one guy.

Caruso and Green.

And AD, Kuz, LeBron makes it so that we don’t need a Kobe type SG. We need a true 3 and D shooting guard, a Ray Allen type pure shooting guard. Green, check.

The hell is Caruso going to do in comparison to an actual star guard, he's not even a starter or starter quality as much as we love him. Green is good but again, he;s also a role player. We may not need a Kobe Bryant but we could use a third option guard.

Get in the grill and inside the head of Booker?

Like I’ve said all summer, by Christmas, Caruso should be our starting PG. His defense is excellent. B-ball IQ through the roof. He looks like he’s in good conditioning. Soon, his shot will start falling, which will open up driving lanes.

There were apparently mind blowing stats for when LBJ and AC are on the court together, said Billy Mac. I’m about the eye test.

Caruso should start.

I’d like to see a five game stretch (Vogel runs a five game cycle, adjusts rotations, five more games, adjusts) of the following lineup:

PG: Caruso
SG: James
SF: Kuzma
PF: Davis
C: Howard

[Sedale Threatt]

I, on the other hand, am not about the eye test, at least not in a vacuum. It's just way too easy to fall victim to confirmation biases and make sh*t up.

I say this to acknowledge that I could very well be talking out of my @ss when I say that Caruso, despite absolutely horrid advanced stats (and regular stats, too), just seems to make a difference.

Not so much that I think it would really matter to play him over Bradley, who is also mediocre but will also get in people's faces and has tons more experience. Caruso does have an excellent net rating when paired with LeBron, but Bradley's is actually slightly better. And here's a real news flash: LeBron has an excellent net rating with a bunch of our players, because he's really good.

(One thing to keep an eye on: We're way too early in the season to know much about lineups yet -- we only have one five-man group that has played even 100 minutes together yet -- but LeBron/Davis/Howard/Bradley/Green is one to keep an eye on. They're our second-most deployed group at 18 mins and are demolishing the opposition to the tune of 50.8 pts / 100 possessions.)

At the very least, Vogel would seem to value Caruso as well given the minutes he's getting, and I'd be perfectly happy punting Pope to the end of the bench and splitting up his time between Alex and, when necessary, Rondo.

[NippySudz]

Caruso and Green.

And AD, Kuz, LeBron makes it so that we don’t need a Kobe type SG. We need a true 3 and D shooting guard, a Ray Allen type pure shooting guard. Green, check.

The hell is Caruso going to do in comparison to an actual star guard, he's not even a starter or starter quality as much as we love him. Green is good but again, he;s also a role player. We may not need a Kobe Bryant but we could use a third option guard.

Get in the grill and inside the head of Booker?

Like I’ve said all summer, by Christmas, Caruso should be our starting PG. His defense is excellent. B-ball IQ through the roof. He looks like he’s in good conditioning. Soon, his shot will start falling, which will open up driving lanes.

There were apparently mind blowing stats for when LBJ and AC are on the court together, said Billy Mac. I’m about the eye test.

Caruso should start.

I’d like to see a five game stretch (Vogel runs a five game cycle, adjusts rotations, five more games, adjusts) of the following lineup:

PG: Caruso
SG: James
SF: Kuzma
PF: Davis
C: Howard

I'm guessing you're not a fan of Bradley?

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[stan francisco]

The hell is Caruso going to do in comparison to an actual star guard, he's not even a starter or starter quality as much as we love him. Green is good but again, he;s also a role player. We may not need a Kobe Bryant but we could use a third option guard.

Get in the grill and inside the head of Booker?

Like I’ve said all summer, by Christmas, Caruso should be our starting PG. His defense is excellent. B-ball IQ through the roof. He looks like he’s in good conditioning. Soon, his shot will start falling, which will open up driving lanes.

There were apparently mind blowing stats for when LBJ and AC are on the court together, said Billy Mac. I’m about the eye test.

Caruso should start.

I’d like to see a five game stretch (Vogel runs a five game cycle, adjusts rotations, five more games, adjusts) of the following lineup:

PG: Caruso
SG: James
SF: Kuzma
PF: Davis
C: Howard

I'm guessing you're not a fan of Bradley?

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I like his defensive intensity and his focus. But he’s a one-side-of-the-ball only player in the opposite way of most, defensively. His offense is highly unreliable, hit or miss. Don’t dislike him but he’s a third stringer.

[NippySudz]

Get in the grill and inside the head of Booker?

Like I’ve said all summer, by Christmas, Caruso should be our starting PG. His defense is excellent. B-ball IQ through the roof. He looks like he’s in good conditioning. Soon, his shot will start falling, which will open up driving lanes.

There were apparently mind blowing stats for when LBJ and AC are on the court together, said Billy Mac. I’m about the eye test.

Caruso should start.

I’d like to see a five game stretch (Vogel runs a five game cycle, adjusts rotations, five more games, adjusts) of the following lineup:

PG: Caruso
SG: James
SF: Kuzma
PF: Davis
C: Howard

I'm guessing you're not a fan of Bradley?

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I like his defensive intensity and his focus. But he’s a one-side-of-the-ball only player in the opposite way of most, defensively. His offense is highly unreliable, hit or miss. Don’t dislike him but he’s a third stringer.

Thought he had string of good games. His connection with Dwight/mgee takes pressure on LeBron to make plays

Caruso seems more good in spurts.hes a chippy guy. Scrappy guy. Dellavadova kinda guy.

His play can energize a team but I don't necessarily see how he's better than ab. Ab played a big role in winning the game. Big offensive rebound and kick out to kuz

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[tamaraw08]

I'm guessing you're not a fan of Bradley?

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I like his defensive intensity and his focus. But he’s a one-side-of-the-ball only player in the opposite way of most, defensively. His offense is highly unreliable, hit or miss. Don’t dislike him but he’s a third stringer.

Thought he had string of good games. His connection with Dwight/mgee takes pressure on LeBron to make plays

Caruso seems more good in spurts.hes a chippy guy. Scrappy guy. Dellavadova kinda guy.

His play can energize a team but I don't necessarily see how he's better than ab. Ab played a big role in winning the game. Big offensive rebound and kick out to kuz

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I think Caruso and AB have different strengths and skill sets. Bradley is better with on the ball defense while Vogel has been using 6-5 Caruso when they use AD as a center bec Alex can switch to bigger players like Joe Ingles, he's also good in defensive rotations and drawing charges.
I would have loved Alex to start ahead of Bradley bec I felt he's a better 3pt shooter but he's also struggling from the area right now. It's very hard to get into some kind of rhythm when you only take 1.2 attempts unless you're Steve Kerr. Having said that, it seems like Caruso is not good with his middle game, his pull up jumpers are bad unlike Bradley who is a little better. Caruso also has been a bit careless with his passes lately but I think he'll get better if you put a PG like Rondo or Lebron next to him.

[stan francisco]

I'm guessing you're not a fan of Bradley?

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I like his defensive intensity and his focus. But he’s a one-side-of-the-ball only player in the opposite way of most, defensively. His offense is highly unreliable, hit or miss. Don’t dislike him but he’s a third stringer.

Thought he had string of good games. His connection with Dwight/mgee takes pressure on LeBron to make plays

Caruso seems more good in spurts.hes a chippy guy. Scrappy guy. Dellavadova kinda guy.

His play can energize a team but I don't necessarily see how he's better than ab. Ab played a big role in winning the game. Big offensive rebound and kick out to kuz

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You have to look at him playing defense, look off the ball. Caruso has two points and one assist against the Suns, and was +15 (highest in the team).

[markjay]

I like his defensive intensity and his focus. But he’s a one-side-of-the-ball only player in the opposite way of most, defensively. His offense is highly unreliable, hit or miss. Don’t dislike him but he’s a third stringer.

Thought he had string of good games. His connection with Dwight/mgee takes pressure on LeBron to make plays

Caruso seems more good in spurts.hes a chippy guy. Scrappy guy. Dellavadova kinda guy.

His play can energize a team but I don't necessarily see how he's better than ab. Ab played a big role in winning the game. Big offensive rebound and kick out to kuz

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I think Caruso and AB have different strengths and skill sets. Bradley is better with on the ball defense while Vogel has been using 6-5 Caruso when they use AD as a center bec Alex can switch to bigger players like Joe Ingles, he's also good in defensive rotations and drawing charges.
I would have loved Alex to start ahead of Bradley bec I felt he's a better 3pt shooter but he's also struggling from the area right now. It's very hard to get into some kind of rhythm when you only take 1.2 attempts unless you're Steve Kerr. Having said that, it seems like Caruso is not good with his middle game, his pull up jumpers are bad unlike Bradley who is a little better. Caruso also has been a bit careless with his passes lately but I think he'll get better if you put a PG like Rondo or Lebron next to him.

Caruso is a great energy guy off the bench. He should keep playing that role.

[Landsberger]

Caruso has been able to hold his own against larger/slower guards defensively however he's shown that he's not quick enough to stay with the primary PG's. He's also having issues shooting. He brings a decent feel for the defensive scheme and can facilitate adequately. In the end he's another sporadic offensive player who can complement our defensive play.

[LAKESHOW]

Send caruso as a sweetner for iggy

[danfantastk32]

Last year every conversation got turned into a "we shouldn't have got Lebron" debate. This year it's Caruso.

Couple of years before that, it was the Jimmy vs Magic thing. I guess it never ends. I dunno about Caruso. Seems decent, but I doubt he gets much higher than that: decent. We'll see. Would love to see the guy become a good shooter, and stake a claim in the NBA as a legit PG.

As for Kuz....I don't think he does too many things well, so how he shoots defines how he played that night. If I were him, I'd stick to that nice offensive weapon. Be that sparky 6th man....ala Lou Williams. It's working out great for him. Lou don't defend. He's not a rebounder...not some great passer. Just a smart offensive minded guy who has a great role.

I look at a guy like Lou, and I see Kuzma's ceiling. He's gotta become a better shooter first.

[NippySudz]

Last year every conversation got turned into a "we shouldn't have got Lebron" debate. This year it's Caruso.

Couple of years before that, it was the Jimmy vs Magic thing. I guess it never ends. I dunno about Caruso. Seems decent, but I doubt he gets much higher than that: decent. We'll see. Would love to see the guy become a good shooter, and stake a claim in the NBA as a legit PG.

As for Kuz....I don't think he does too many things well, so how he shoots defines how he played that night. If I were him, I'd stick to that nice offensive weapon. Be that sparky 6th man....ala Lou Williams. It's working out great for him. Lou don't defend. He's not a rebounder...not some great passer. Just a smart offensive minded guy who has a great role.

I look at a guy like Lou, and I see Kuzma's ceiling. He's gotta become a better shooter first.

Lou is a good playmaker. He makes the right passes, but he's not elite or great. If you could get a chris paul or someone to run the point, you should, but he turns the ball over less than leonard in my eye test. the montrez-lou pick and roll is fun to watch.

Kuz, kuz just scores. He's JR smith without the defense. That's ok. He doesn't need to be a star or a superstar to win and I wish the media and kuzma fans would stop trying to push that narrative. If he becomes one, great. I'll eat my words. I have no problem saying this guy is a star or superstar should it happen but trying to call it before it happens is just too much for me.

As far as caruso goes, I like watching him play. I like his energy, but I don't know what that means. I don't know if that will translate into playoff basketball. There are a ton of guys in the regular season that play very well. First name that comes to mind is eric bledsoe. Looks like a borderline allstar but when the playoffs comes, he's no where to be found. Caruso might be a regular season performer or he might be consistent. Again, I don't know. Its too early to tell.

[Beethoven]

Send caruso as a sweetner for iggy

uh..no

[stan francisco]

Send caruso as a sweetner for iggy

Absolutely not! Caruso is way too much value for little money to be traded, the way he is currently contributing. And his shot hasn’t even started falling yet. His three point shot was reliable not too long ago. He’ll snap back into it, then he’ll get to drive more which he is really good at.

Despite only 2 points and 1 assist, he posted a +15 against the Suns. Best +/- diff on the team in a tight game. MVP!!! Lol.


Sedale,

Im sure you must agree that the eye test knew that all along in that game. It’s kids who only watch whomever dribbles or shoots the ball and nothing else who have to rely on stats. Sure, advanced stats are greatly informative when presented in context. But when it comes to watching who impacts the game on both ends, eye test tells me plenty. I even think that stats can sometimes be more inaccurate and misleading because they don’t take into account the full context. They can’t.

Like last season, all post Christmas game stats were completely useless to me because things like +/- mean nothing for telling anything about their future contributions when measured within a decimated roster. With significantly lengthy injuries to LBJ, Rondo, Ball, Ingram, Kuzma; does it matter what +/- Hart posted? No. Means almost nothing.

So I actually think that intently watching their tendencies, focus, attention to detail, doggedness, clutch situation behavior, off the ball cuts, help defense timing,..

To me, that’s more informative than reading the +15 stat along with 2PT, 1AST. I thought Caruso played like a rock solid veteran in that game. Barely made any notable mental mistakes.

Based on the eye test only, I’d like to see what he does as a starter for five games. I’d guess his three will start falling with open looks from LBJ and AD double teams. Then he’ll get to drive. Again, he’ll be our starting PG before the next Xmas day game.

[stan francisco]

I, on the other hand, am not about the eye test, at least not in a vacuum. It's just way too easy to fall victim to confirmation biases and make sh*t up.

I say this to acknowledge that I could very well be talking out of my @ss when I say that Caruso, despite absolutely horrid advanced stats (and regular stats, too), just seems to make a difference.

Not so much that I think it would really matter to play him over Bradley, who is also mediocre but will also get in people's faces and has tons more experience. Caruso does have an excellent net rating when paired with LeBron, but Bradley's is actually slightly better. And here's a real news flash: LeBron has an excellent net rating with a bunch of our players, because he's really good.

(One thing to keep an eye on: We're way too early in the season to know much about lineups yet -- we only have one five-man group that has played even 100 minutes together yet -- but LeBron/Davis/Howard/Bradley/Green is one to keep an eye on. They're our second-most deployed group at 18 mins and are demolishing the opposition to the tune of 50.8 pts / 100 possessions.)

At the very least, Vogel would seem to value Caruso as well given the minutes he's getting, and I'd be perfectly happy punting Pope to the end of the bench and splitting up his time between Alex and, when necessary, Rondo.

Good post. Agreed.

[Rakkasan]

No,he will not be an allstar, and he doesn't have allstar potential. Personally, I think the lakers should try to package him and get themselves a quality two way perimeter player.

[NippySudz]

No,he will not be an allstar, and he doesn't have allstar potential. Personally, I think the lakers should try to package him and get themselves a quality two way perimeter player.

Why and who would be out there? There no market out there for that. Kuzma ks not an all star but he's still a quality asset.

It's the fans that are expecting too much of him. If he was playing for Milwaukee and putting up the numbers he did last yr, people wouldn't say he's an all star but they would be talking about how much a steal his contract is.

It's only because hes playing on the Lakers and Laker fans overhype their own players +playing in a big market, people are saying trade him

But no one can deny he's overproducing his salary. Maybe you trade him in the off season when it's time to renew his contract if they don't succeed with him in the playoffs but right now, you give him a shot.

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