Damian Lillard‘s return for Game 2 of the Milwaukee Bucks playoff matchup with the Indiana Pacers wasn’t enough to help Giannis Antetokounmpo and company even up the series. Instead, the Pacers got the best of the Bucks again, and the series moves to Milwaukee for Games 3 and 4 with the Bucks down two. Giannis has been nothing short of electric. However, aside from Lillard, who might need another game or two to adjust, Giannis needs help from the others, and one of those others is supposed to be former Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, who’s seeing the playoffs for the first time since his days as a Los Angeles Laker. For whatever reason, Kuzma isn’t pulling his weight, leaving one ESPN NBA analyst questioning what the Wizards did to him.
Are Kyle Kuzma’s Playoff Struggles a Byproduct of Wizards Stint?
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins Blames Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma’s Bland Playoffs
Regular First Take guest Kendrick Perkins made his other regular appearance on the wildly amusing and entertaining Road Trippin’ podcast with former NBA’er Richard Jefferson on Wednesday to discuss the playoffs. The Pacers-Bucks series was one topic of discussion when Kuzma was brought up. Milwaukee traded for the Lakers champion at the trade deadline this season after he spent three and half years in purgatory with the Wizards. Washington never made the playoffs in that time, spending all each season at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with no winning mentality or direction as a franchise.
This might be what Perkins was referring to when he pointed the finger at the Wizards organization for playing a part in Kuzma’s struggles in Milwaukee’s first two playoff games [10:45 mark].
“Kyle Kuzma, I don’t know if it’s because he’s been playing meaningless basketball for the past few years for the Washington Wizards and he forgot how to play playoff and championship basketball, I was expecting big things from him. I’m not seeing that.”
Bucks don’t survive without a supporting cast
In Kuzma’s defense, if he has one, he did put up 12 points instead of zero, which is how many points he scored in Game 1. In Game 2, Kumza shot 50% from the floor but 0-3 from three and only three rebounds. It was better than the first game but not nearly effective or impactful enough to complement Giannis’s 34 points and 18 rebounds. Giannis has 70 points through two games to Kuzma’s 12.
Whether Kuzma’s time in Washington is actually affecting his play in this series seems like a stretch. However, there is something to having to erase a spirit of losing from your memory banks. Kuzma grew as a player with the Wizards but didn’t win with the team. That said, inside of him lies a champion; he has to find it, drag it out, and put it to good use. Milwaukee isn’t out of it; Perkins believes they are, but down two heading home isn’t the worst-case scenario the Bucks could be in. The home crowd and floor are on their side now; that may help light a fire underneath Kuzma to put up more than 12 points. Without him and the others, Milwaukee will go down in this series.
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