The Milwaukee Bucks' trade for Kyle Kuzma looks like a disaster throughout four postseason games.
The forward was brought to Milwaukee to provide stout defense, athletic versatility, rebounding and complementary scoring. He's done none of the above against the Indiana Pacers. In four matchups, he's now averaging just six points, 1.5 rebounds, one assists and 2.5 fouls while hitting 33.3 percent of his shots from the floor and a nausea-inducing 12.5 percent from deep. It's been tough to watch.
Kyle Kuzma's finishing has been a gut-punch for Milwaukee Bucks
Kuzma's struggles mainly stem from his offense, where he's been a non-factor. From the moment he first came aboard, it was clear he had an issue when driving to the hoop. More often than not, it felt as if he would drive to the hoop without a plan and either take a whacky shot, try to pass it out or get his shot swatted into the stands. That type of erratic play has been all over this series.
Throughout four games, Kyle Kuzma, a 6-foot-9 forward, is shooting just 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) on his layup attempts. It almost sounds like a typo. Among all NBA players to attempt at least 10 shots in the restricted area in the 2025 postseason, Kuzma is tied for the worst percentage, going just 4-of-12 in that particular spot. How? It's because of his erratic fight-or-flight style of attacking the hoop.
Kuzma's play has been so troublesome, even dating back to the regular season, that the Bucks take him off the floor in crucial moments. Now, with Damian Lillard likely to miss the rest of this series, the coaching staff may have no choice but to give Kuzma more minutes as the Milwaukee Bucks try to save their season after dropping into a 1-3 hole against Indiana.
The forward had a chance to change the narrative surrounding him regarding the "empty stats" he put up with the Washington Wizards and his reputation as a non-winning player, but he has fallen victim to it thus far. As their playoff hopes sit on life support, the Milwaukee Bucks could unquestionably use a breakthrough from Kyle Kuzma.
It must be noted that Kuzma did indeed hurt his hand in Game 1 of this series, which could very well be impacting his play, but this issue didn't start after the injury. It's something that has plagued him in his entire Milwaukee Bucks stint and even long before that.
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