Lakers 125, Wizards 120
Q. Did you see progress in this game tonight? You were able to cut it to five at the end.
KYLE KUZMA: Yeah, after playing sloppy most of the game, being able to get back. Credit a lot of those guys. J.C. did a great job, Jared Butler, Patrick Baldwin, AG. When they were in, they really made that run. A lot of those guys were tired playing in the G-League the other day. They did a great job of really getting us back in the ballgame to an extent.
But we just didn't have enough to close. AD was on the boards all night. It affected us a lot being small and outnumbered a little bit already. But we showed a lot of fight, resilience, and it's all part of building that type of culture.
Q. What sloppiness would you like to see cleaned up?
KYLE KUZMA: We just had turnovers starting with me. I had four. Then we just had a lot of easy baskets for them not getting back in transition. First half they scored 19 points in transition. Really allowed them to stay afloat and have a little lead going into the half because we played really well outside of that in the first half. Too many dunks, easy dunks, guys coming down the middle of the lane doing what they want. I think it was a good learning lesson.
Q. Does it ever get old to face your former team?
KYLE KUZMA: Never, man. I love those guys over there, Bron, AD. That's really the only two people over there. Yeah, I'll throw Rudy in there, too, because that's my guy. But it's always fun playing against them and competing. I learned so much from them guys, taking a backseat earlier in my career to really propel me to who I am today. Just nothing but love for both of them.
Q. We're learning about Tristan as we're watching him. What are some of the things that you're learning about what he can do and where he needs to grow?
KYLE KUZMA: He just needs to get stronger, honestly. But that boy can play. He's smart. You can tell that he's been in Europe. He's a European style player, plays the right way, understands spacing, competes. I think that's a big one. He knows when to space the floor and shoot and takes solid shots. Very impressed by seeing him so early.
Q. We know he's been a pro, but even with all that said, to come in here with three weeks left in the season, how tough is that even for someone who is a pro as he is?
KYLE KUZMA: Yeah, he's a pro, but just understanding the game, playing in Europe, a lot of those guys know how to come in and contribute a lot. Recently if you look around the NBA, the European talent, international talent, just because the brand of basketball is much different from here, and playing the right way is an emphasis. It's very tough, and especially for how young he is, to come over here and pick things up on the fly.
I seen it the first day when we had him I want to say in Chicago and in the film session he just came to double because we were doubling DeMar. Mind you, this is in a hotel, and he came over to double DeMar and then just ran weak side. We've been trying to get guys to do that all year and he just picked it up on the fly. I could tell right away he was a high-IQ basketball player. It's great for him.
Q. In the ballroom at a --
KYLE KUZMA: Ballroom, yeah.
Q. (On his shoulder soreness.)
KYLE KUZMA: The training staff has been doing a great job managing it with me. I think I hurt it at the end of January. They've been doing a great job just keeping me available.
Q. Which players took Tristan under their wings?
KYLE KUZMA: He's a listener. He listens to everybody. He's a sponge. It's funny watching him, it's always fun to watch rookies come in the game and play against their idols, whether it was tonight, his first opportunity playing Bron or AD, the other night seeing Giannis for the first time, and he's Greek, as well. It's real fun just to watch young players with their first opportunity to play these stars in this league. It just brings back a lot of memories for me being young and the same thing happened.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports