Tyler Herro scored 40 points in their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He could have made more if not for the defense given to him by Kyle Kuzma.
The 29-year-old forward is more known for his offensive versatility but on Sunday night, just when the Bucks needed stops the most, Doc Rivers relied on Kuzma.
The Heat All-Star was basically hitting every shot available for him. The only way to stop him was to put him on the free throw line where he went 13 out of 14. He also set his teammates up for easy scores with his 11 assists.
However, the points stop coming for him in the last three minutes of the game as he was denied the ball or the shot by his designated defender.
“Just stay square, stay in front,” Kuzma said when asked about the tough job of defending Herro.
“I know certain parts of his game. Just understanding he likes to reject screens and bounce a little bit, I’m kind of letting him make the first move a little bit, and being 6-9, just trying to recover. I’m not the fastest or the best defender, but I know how to use my size, and I have pretty good angle recovery speed.”
Kyle Kuzma can relieve Giannis Antetokounmpo
The best part about Kuzma is that he can defend multiple positions.
He did that against a very shift Herro and then did that, too, the night before against Kawhi Leonard when they played the Los Angeles Clippers.
Guading Kawhi should be Antetokounmpo’s job but according to the Greek Freak, his new teammate asked him directly to shadow The Klaw.
“(He) can move his feet, strong, has a lot of length, and I think he takes pride in guarding players,” Antetokounmpo told reporters shortly after the Heat win.
“From the first game that I came back and played against the Clippers, I was guarding Kawhi, and he came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, when you need a break, let me know, I got him.’”
Right now, things are looking good for the Bucks who have won eight straight.
They return to action on Wednesday against the versatile and young Houston Rockets.
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