Kyle Kuzma was the only Milwaukee Bucks starter who suit up in their win against the Detroit Pistons. It was their last regular season game and they already secured a fifth spot on Friday to face the Indiana Pacers.
So why did Kuzma have to play?
Head coach Doc Rivers says it is to get him going.
“He needed to see the ball go in,” Rivers told reporters post-game according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“That was intentional on our part, trying to get him involved in every single play and be aggressive, so that was good.”
This move is understandable as the Bucks forward has been struggling lately to the point that he got benched in the fourth quarter of the last two games.
He played the whole first quarter and was never sent back. He finished with 22 points on eight out of 10 shooting. It was his highest points in one quarter since 2019 when he was still part of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kyle Kuzma’s bonuses after Detroit game
Kuzma played for a total of 65 games this season, which means he became eligible for personal bonuses.
Ben Steele of MJS said he will receive $300,000 as his team made the playoffs and another $300,000 for the “Bucks having a team net rating greater than or equal to 1.5.”
He insisted though that it was not all about the money.
“I’ve been a winner my whole life and I just want to feel that feeling as much as possible and obviously when you have a team with big salary guys and a bunch of people making a lot of money, every kind of penny counts,” he said.
“It’s not about me at all. Money comes and goes. I’ll make it again.”
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