Kyle Kuzma’s historically bad Game 1 performance highlights Bucks’ supporting cast concerns

Prior to Saturday afternoon, Kyle Kuzma hadn’t participated in a playoff game since 2021, when he was still with the Los Angeles Lakers. For all intents and purposes, that streak continued after his historically bad showing in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 117-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the team’s first-round series. 

In 21 minutes and 35 seconds of action, Kuzma did not record a single stat besides missed shots and fouls: zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, zero blocks and two fouls on 0 of 5 from the field and 0 of 2 from the free throw line. 

Kuzma is the sixth player in NBA history (at least since steals and blocks started being recorded in the 1973-74 season) to play at least 20 minutes and have a zero in all five major stat categories. Here is a look at the other five players to “achieve” this feat:

Bucks coach Doc Rivers tried to defend Kuzma, who is, understandably, already the butt of countless jokes on social media. 

“It’s hard to score when you don’t touch the ball,” Rivers said. “Kyle got two shots in the first half, both with two seconds on the shot clock. Kuzma can play, but we gotta involve him and we gotta make sure we keep him involved.” 

Kuzma actually had three shots in the first half, and only one of his five attempts in the game came with fewer than five seconds remaining on the shot clock. In any case, Kuzma’s lack of touches on the offense doesn’t explain why he couldn’t grab a rebound or make any sort of impact on the defensive end. 

Zooming out, Kuzma’s no-show highlights the Bucks’ issues with their supporting cast around Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

The Greek Freak had 36 points on 14 of 23 from the field, while the rest of the team managed 62 points on 21 of 61 (34.4%) shooting. Two starters (Kuzma and Taurean Prince) went scoreless, and no one besides Antetokounmpo had more than 15 points (AJ Green). 

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“I thought our offense was awful,” Rivers said. “I thought our offense contributed as much to our defense as anything. We just didn’t play the way we’ve played during this stretch offensively… We’re not gonna beat them when we have 98 points. We’re not gonna beat them when we have 15 assists and 10 turnovers. We’re just not. We gotta get back to our spacing, playing downhill and moving the ball.” 

Even without Damian Lillard, who has been sidelined since March 18 due to a blood clot, the Bucks were one of the best offensive teams in the league down the stretch. They achieved that through Antetokounmpo’s brilliance and elite 3-point shooting, but also strong play from the rest of the roster. 

There were always real questions, though, about whether the likes of Kuzma, Prince, Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr. and Green could maintain that level of production in the playoffs. The early answer is no, though the Bucks won’t shoot as poorly as they did in Game 1 (9 of 37 from beyond the arc) over the course of the series. 

The good news for the Bucks is that Lillard has been cleared to return to basketball activities and is expected to return in either Game 2 or 3, according to CBS Sports’ Bill Reiter. 

Lillard is a playoff riser and would give the Bucks another proven shotmaker whom the Pacers would have to respect. Perhaps even more importantly, Lillard’s ability to get downhill, either to score or create for others, would make the Pacers’ defense think and move in more ways than it currently has to with only Antetokounmpo out there. 

It’s fair to wonder, though, just how much Lillard can give the Bucks after being sidelined for a month with a serious health scare. The Bucks will be better with him, but to what extent? We’ll soon find out. 

Even with Lillard, the Bucks are going to need more from Kuzma and Co. A string of zeroes isn’t going to cut it.