Why Wednesday’s matchup against the Nuggets will be crucial for Kyle Kuzma

The Washington Wizards have on a huge streak, but not a good one. They have lost each of their last seven games. This trend has not been due to Kyle Kuzma, however. He is having a career season and will have the chance to prove how much he has grown in the Wizards Wednesday night matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

Kuzma has been on a tear this season despite his team’s lack of success in the win column. He is averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for the season so far. Add in his quality defense and solid efficiency and those are All-Star caliber numbers if he were on a decent team.

Kyle Kuzma may be looking to go off in the near future to score as many points as possible.

With recent news that the Wizards star may want out of Washington, he may look to go on a run ahead of the NBA’s trade season. This year, trades will ramp up on December 15 due to new trade eligibility of players.

With this in mind, Kyle Kuzma may start trying to make himself look like a legitimate top option for a contending team. With both Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, it seems likely that he will start against the Nuggets.

The one thing keeping Kuzma back from accomplishing any goal of showing off his scoring ability is the lack of spacing he will have without Beal or Porzingis. The Nuggets defense will be able to focus on him and try to keep him from scoring as much as possible.

Without any other real scoring threat on the roster, he may have to find creative ways to score. Something he has shown flashes of in the past but has never really had an opportunity to fully showcase how good he really is at this.

In order to continue his high scoring numbers, and potentially lead the Wizards wo a win against the Nuggets, Kyle Kuzma is going to need to continue his aggressive play. Something that has really improved this season.

If Kuzma can continue his high intensity play that he has displayed this season while continuing his defensive pressure, all while facing higher pressure from opposing teams, he may be able to win the Washington Wizards some games while simultaneously boosting his draft stock.