LOS ANGELES_Kyle Kuzma showed a little bit of his trademark confidence when asked Monday night about his recent excellent play.
Has he had a stretch like this before during his short time in the NBA?
"I think so," Kuzma said. "I mean, last year at least half the season I was pretty damn good."
That's also true about how he's been playing lately. In five games in December, Kuzma has averaged 25 points. He has kept his turnovers minimal, contributed 8.2 rebounds a game and shot better than 52 percent.
It was last season when Kuzma put the rest of the league on notice with a hot start to his rookie campaign before hitting a wall. He had 14 games of 20 points or more between the start of the season and the end of the calendar year but only two such games in January or February.
He recovered during the course of the season, finishing with averages of 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, and was fourth in voting for rookie of the year.
Kuzma then spent the summer working to become a more complete player.
It has been showing at various times this season, especially lately.
"Just being more aggressive, having more opportunity to score," Kuzma said. "I'm really looking to facilitate, find my teammates. Got back into a rebounding mind state and just improved defensively."
