Los Angeles Lakers: 5 realistic predictions for the 2018-19 season

5. Kyle Kuzma seems to hit his ceiling

There’s an abundance of chatter right now about how great these young Lakers can be. While I agree with the general premise, I’m not convinced each and every one of them is going to turn into a star. Brandon Ingram probably will. Lonzo Ball should as well, at least from a facilitator standpoint.

With Kyle Kuzma, however, I’m not so sure.

Yes, he was sensational as a rookie, quickly carving out a role for himself as a go-to offensive threat and clutch 3-point shooter off the bench. However, there were also a number of negatives to his game — mainly on the defensive end of the floor. It’s partly for that reason that I’m predicting he hits his ceiling very soon.

Every player can get better. They can spend countless hours working on certain aspects of their game. Unfortunately, no matter how much gym time is dedicated to improving in a particular area, it doesn’t guarantee results. Just ask Shaquille O’Neal about his free throw shooting. He supposedly made 200 free throws a day, yet still finished his career with a 52.7 free throw percentage.

What I’m trying to say is that Kuzma may never get much better on the defensive end. On top of that, he may not have a ton of room for growth as a scorer either. Sure, we’ll see marginal improvement from year to year, but I wouldn’t expect any sudden jumps in effectiveness.

I know it’s not what you want to hear, but Kuzma may very well hit his ceiling in 2018-19.