Although the Los Angeles Lakers will be without reserve forward Kyle Kuzma for the second straight game against the Miami Heat on Friday night, the third-year player had some encouraging statements about his ankle prior to the game.
Kuzma says that his ankle injury is not related to the stress reaction that kept him out for the first two weeks of the season and all of the preseason, but it is getting better, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
That news is good for the Lakers as well as Kuzma, who has had a major adjustment is role this season after returning from injury due to the fact that Anthony Davis prefers playing his position, power forward. Kuzma’s minutes total has gone down from over 30 minutes last year to just 23 minutes per game so far this season.
Kuzma is shooting pretty well from the 3-point line at 36% and he’s averaging 11 points per game. The two games in which he eclipsed 30 minutes played were both Lakers blowouts, but the season is young and he will likely have more opportunities once he gets healthy.
