New Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma is adjusting to life on a competitive club after his years with the rebuilding Wizards, as he tells Mark Medina of Sportskeeda in a new interview.
“I haven’t found my total offensive groove,” Kuzma said. “But I’ve been able to be competitive. Defense and rebounding is something that I do really, really well. So that’s what made an impact. It’s just about being able to compete. That’s the best thing for me. And it’s something that I’m very happy to do, especially with this group of people. We’re only going to be better.”
In his 21 contests with Milwaukee so far, the 6’9″ pro is averaging 14.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG. He’s shooting a middling .437/.295/.671, a far cry from the shooting efficacy of beloved former Bucks wing Khris Middleton — although Kuzma provides a major athletic advantage over Middleton at this stage in their careers.
Kuzma continues to recuperate from a left ankle sprain incurred on March 5, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“I’ve been playing on one leg for like the last three weeks,” Kuzma said. “I think the OKC game, I felt pretty good. And then felt much better in Golden State and then felt the best I’ve felt since before that Dallas game where I sprained it.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Veteran Pistons swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. spoke with Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda at length about his new role on a rising young playoff hopeful. “Just being one of the designated shooters for the team really helps the guard play, especially with [Cade Cunningham],” Hardaway told Afseth. “It helps space the floor—not only for myself, but also for [Tobias Harris], [Malik Beasley], and a lot of other guys that came in with that. So just having that positive impact, bringing that maturity, and having multiple guys who understand what it takes to win ball games—guys who’ve been playing at a high level for many years—that’s key.”
- Two-time All-Star Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton returned to the lineup Saturday against Brooklyn following lingering back issues, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). “I’ve had back issues my whole life,” Haliburton said. “I’ve worked really hard to try to get rid of it and try to do everything we can. Sometimes my body reacts in certain ways. There was a couple of plays in the Bucks game when I got twisted in the air. At halftime I could feel it locking up. I wanted to play the second half, but right after the game I could feel it really getting bad on me. It felt bad for like a week.”
- Bulls guard Coby White has been on a scoring tear of late, averaging 29.4 PPG across his last 10 contests. In a new conversation with Afseth, White explains his breakout season. “It was just about improving on a lot of different things,” White said. “The summer is long, especially since we didn’t make the playoffs, so I had a lot of time to work.”