Kyle Kuzma had the opportunity for a career highlight during the Washington Wizards' preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets. With the scores at 9-8 in the first quarter in favor of the Wizards, Kuzma hit an ankle-breaking dribble move on Simmons to get open for a three-pointer. But instead of making it, Kuzma embarrassingly airballed the shot.
This will be a moment to forget for Kuzma, who did everything right up until the shot. This play is perhaps the perfect encapsulation of Kyle Kuzma as a player. Someone who can be offensively brilliant in one moment, and then follow it up with an unforced and unfathomable error the next moment.
Unfortunately for the Wizards, this was not their only airball of the game. Jordan Poole, another player famous for their offensive inconsistency, airballed a shot from the corner. Unfortunately for Poole, Cam Thomas turned his mistake into a bucket for the Nets, taking the ball up the court and hitting a heat-check three.
The Nets are showing their ability to capitalize on mistakes and not giving up on the play tonight. Ben Simmons, who has actually been having a good game, actually put away a missed layup from Cam Thomas via putback dunk. This Nets squad is showing that they are there to punish you if a mistake is made on the court.
At the time of writing, Kuzma has not been having a good game at all, scoring just 7 points, along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Kuzma has gone 3-10 from the field, and 0-6 from the three-point line. Kuzma has been an offensive net-negative for the Wizards tonight, against a Nets team that isn't renowned for their defense.
As for Simmons, despite his embarrassing fall, he has been playing well tonight, putting up 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists in just 13 minutes. Simmons has gone 5-7 from the field. However, his lack of contribution on defense tonight shows us that Simmons' getting back to his previous best is still a pipe dream for now.
The Nets are currently commanding a 15-point lead over the Wizards, with four starters - Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, Cameron Johnson, and Dennis Schroder - in double digits. Thomas leads the entire game in scoring, with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.
The Nets are having a decent offensive game, going 48.8% from the field, 38.9% from the three-point line. However, they will need to address their free-throw struggles, as they've gone just 65% from the free-throw line.
The Wizards however have struggled offensively, with only three players at the time of writing - Jordan Poole with 13 points, Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes with 10 points each - in double digits for the Wizards. As a team, the Wizards have shot just 38.6% from the field, 28.6% from the three-point line, and 58.3% from the free-throw line.
While both teams are expected to be tanking teams next season, there seems to be a gulf in quality between both sides. And that may affect their 2025 NBA Draft prospects.
Related: Ben Simmons Fires Back Against Haters Who Claim He's Stealing From The Nets
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