Not everyone is built for the playoffs, but one player took that idea to an extreme in Game 1.
On Saturday, the NBA playoffs tipped off with the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their first-round series. Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s best efforts, the Pacers cruised to a victory in the playoff opener to grab a 1-0 advantage over the team they beat in the first round last season.
To ensure they aren’t first-round exits again in 2025, the Bucks need to get much more from their role players. While Damian Lillard’s return should be a massive help for Milwaukee, the team will still need a far better performance from Kyle Kuzma.
In Game 1, Kuzma was set to be the Bucks’ No. 2 option. With Lillard still out and Khris Middleton in Washington, Kuzma was supposed to be the guy to help Antetokounmpo carry the load.
Instead, Kuzma had one of the worst playoff games of all time. Kuzma played over 21 minutes and failed to record a single point, rebound, assist, steal or block. The former Wizard missed all five of his field goal attempts and both of his shots at the foul line, but he did still technically manage to get in the box score with two fouls and a plus-minus of -24.
Former NBA All-Star and Lakers teammate of Kuzma, DeMarcus Cousins, was in disbelief about his performance. Cousins was confident that Kuzma would do better, considering that is the only direction he can go, but it was still a shocking performance.
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“I never thought I’d see a guy outdo Tony Snell,” Cousins said.
Cousins is, of course, referencing the viral meme of a Snell box score from years ago when he failed to record any stats despite playing a large chunk of the game. While Snell did his showing in the regular season, Kuzma had all eyes on him in the playoffs. Although it might be difficult to come back from such a poor performance, Kuzma has been around the league for a while and should have no issues making up for his struggles in Game 2 on Tuesday.
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