Bucks Face Big Question With Kyle Kuzma as No. 2 Option

The Milwaukee Bucks made the trade for Kyle Kuzma at the trade deadline because they believed he would be the perfect third offensive option.

Adding him to a roster with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard was supposed to make Milwaukee's offense much more dangerous. Instead it hasn't worked out that way.

Lillard is hurt and will miss the start of the first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers. That means that Kuzma has moved up in the pecking order into the second scoring option on the team.

The issue with that is that Kuzma has not been good. The net rating with him on the court is one of the worst in the league. The Bucks were 12 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor.

Kuzma's poor defense has not been outweighed by his scoring. In fact, his inefficient shooting is something that Milwaukee is very concerned about.

If Kuzma can't turn things around early in this series, the Bucks are in very big trouble. Indiana is a very well-rounded team, as they know from last year.

Indiana is coming in and playing some of the best basketball in the league. They finished 15-4 in their final 19 games of the season.

Antetokounmpo needs someone else in the starting lineup to take some pressure off him. The Pacers will be laser-focused on stopping Antetokounmpo, so he needs someone else to be able to hit shots.

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During the regular season, Kuzma shot just 33 percent from beyond the 3-point arc after the trade. His overall shooting statistics improved greatly at the end of the season, but he has to play better defense.

If the Bucks don't get Lillard back, they are in the unique position of relying on Kuzma to be the second-best player on the team. That's a position the Pacers would love them to be in for the entire series.

After he was traded to the Bucks. Kuzma averaged 14.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He shot 45.5 percent from the field, as well.

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