On February 17, Beijing time, the Wizards away to meet the Pacers who have been losing consecutively recently, although in the first quarter the two sides played a draw, but in the next two quarters the Pacers quietly expanded the score gradually, once ahead of the Wizards as many as 13 points, even in the last quarter wizards crazy to chase points, but in the end still failed to save the decline, 108-113 defeat to the Pacers. In this campaign, Wizards player Kuzma continued to play the core role of the team, shooting 9 of 27 from the field and 6 of 12 three-pointers on 9-of-27 shooting, and the plus-minus of +5 was also the highest of the starting Five.
In fact, in the first three quarters Kuzma has maintained a stable output, a total of 24 points, but in the last quarter of the physical strength of the obvious lack of Kuzma, in this quarter only 8 shots only 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist into the account, in addition to contributing to the offensive end, but also in the defensive end spare no effort to stare at the opponent's main offensive arrows, and when the father and mother of Kuzma, in the end also failed to stage the "single riding savior" plot.
Although in the last quarter, but without Kuzma's excellent performance in the first three quarters, the Wizards may have been defeated long ago, in the case of Bill fell due to injury, Dinwiddie, Harrell was traded, Kuzma has become the core player that the Wizards rely on. In the case of being entrusted by the coaching staff, Kuzma did not live up to the trust of the team, after entering January, Kuzma's state has obviously recovered to a certain extent, throughout January, Kuzma can average 22.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3 assists per game, and in February, Kuzma still maintained a stable performance, averaging 19.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, and 37.3% of the three-point shooting rate is also the highest in these months. However, the overall strength of the team is indeed limited, and Kuzma can only let himself stay in the air to cut the group.
After the past two seasons of the Lakers' frustrated journey, Kuzma was also abandoned by the Purple and Gold Army in the offseason last year, and Harrell and Pope were packed by the Lakers and sent to the Washington Wizards, who were originally ready to compete with Hachimura to compete for the upper position, and as a result, Hachimura was absent indefinitely because of personal matters, Kuzma also directly sat in the team's starting position, and at the beginning of the season, he exploded two double-doubles in succession, which gained the trust of the Wizards' new coach Unseld. Despite a slump in November and December, Kuzma managed to overcome it and became the Wizards' most stable point of attack after Beal.
In the previous two seasons, Kuzma, who has been criticized by the Lakers for not playing, has regained the calmness and confidence of joining the Lakers for the two seasons after joining the Wizards. As of now, Kuzma can average 16.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the Wizards in the case of 33.2 minutes of playing time, shooting 45.3% from the field and 33.8% from three-point shooting, and it is true that the outside projection is still not accurate, but in key moments, Kuzma will also use a cold-blooded three-pointer from time to time to make the defenders who despise him pay a painful price.
As of now, the Wizards are temporarily ranked 11th in the East with a record of 26 wins and 31 losses, and in the case that Beal has been reimbursed, even if the Wizards can reach the top ten and get the chance of playoffs, it will definitely be extremely difficult to compete for a playoff ticket, but if you can harvest a new self-confident Kuzma this season, it will be good news for the team's future layout.