After there were initially question marks as to whether he would actually play, Kyle Kuzma was given the green light to make his Milwaukee Bucks debut against the Atlanta Hawks.
While Doc Rivers confirmed pregame that the plan was for Kuzma to start at small forward once the Bucks are healthy, the newcomer came off the bench in this contest vs. Atlanta. He logged just a tick below 24 minutes as Rivers clearly wanted to slowly integrate him into the lineup. Kuzma put plenty on display in Milwaukee's 115-110 loss, so let's break it down and grade it.
It was an... interesting Milwaukee Bucks debut for Kyle Kuzma
Kyle Kuzma looked like two different players depending on the half in his debut.
In the first half, Kuzma was fantastic. Knocking down a floater and three 3-pointers, the forward tallied 12 points. Though he looked timid and passive at first, almost as if he was trying to make a good first impression on his teammates, Kuzma remembered that the Bucks needed him to be aggressive, and he went to work. He also had three rebounds and an assist.
The second half was a much different story. In just over nine-and-a-half minutes, Kuzma missed all of his shot attempts, going 0-of-4. While he could have hit them, these weren't the best looks for Kuzma, but it felt like he settled. He did help in the rebounding department by hauling in four of them, but the forward did not log a single other statistic.
In total, Kyle Kuzma finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting (30.8 percent), including 3-of-8 from downtown (37.5 percent), seven rebounds, an assist, two turnovers and a foul.
It certainly wasn't the worst debut. In the first half, he looked like a player who could help this team as they search for answers regarding shot creation, defense and rebounding. The second half wasn't the greatest, but the same could be said for this entire roster. In his first game with the Milwaukee Bucks, Kuzma was expectedly mostly looking for his footing, and the results were mixed.
BTBP Grade: C-
Now, the key is the Milwaukee Bucks getting everyone on the floor to see how this new roster looks. Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't play against Atlanta due to injury, and his fit with Kuzma is what could make or break this trade. Of course, only time will tell how the other new additions of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jericho Sims fit in with this group.
Hopefully Kyle Kuzma's best basketball with the Milwaukee Bucks is ahead of him.
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