EL SEGUNDO — Despite the 115-114 loss to the Stockton Kings, Arthur Kaluma recorded a season high, 31 points.
Since Kaluma arrived for the Lakers, he has been the sixth man and an important bench scorer. However, in this game against the Kings, Kaluma was the most important player for the Lakers.
Kaluma delivered as the leading scorer for South Bay and was even more valuable than the final box score.
Scoring Efficiency
While the scoring prowess from Kaluma was evident, the efficiency makes the performance even more impressive. Kaluma made 11 of 13 shots from the field and 9 of 11 shots within the three-point line.
“I just come in every day and put my hard hat on, I see where the game takes me,” said Arthur Kaluma. “Sometimes I gotta play defense and sometimes I gotta score. Today was scoring.”
South Bay uses Kaluma at both ends of the floor, but his offense seems to be amongst the most valuable on the team. The role for Kaluma as a scorer is not to get as many shots as possible but to get the best looks possible.
Malik Williams and RJ Davis run the offense and control the usage rate in the offense. This allows Kaluma to flow within the South Bay offense and take high percentage shots when called upon.
Off-Ball Movement
As efficient of a scorer as Kaluma is, he brings so much more to the Lakers’ offense. Kaluma is an even bigger threat on offense when he doesn’t have the ball.
“Moving without the ball is an important part of basketball,” said Arthur Kaluma. “I feel like we got so much talent, sometimes you gotta make sure you give certain guys space, find actions so the defenses don't just set and sit in gaps.”
Movement without the ball creates more open shots, which leads to higher shooting percentage. The Lakers average 51% field goal shooting, which is the highest in the league.
Kaluma shoots 60% from the floor and spikes up the Lakers field goal percentage. The efficiency from the shooting translates from Kaluma keeping the offense in motion.
Playoff Importance
Come playoff time, Kaluma’s efficiency and off-ball movement will be needed for the Lakers. This game was a preview of how Kaluma can make an impact against a championship contender.
“It gives us a glimpse of what playoff basketball [is] gonna be,” said RJ Davis. “Physicality, I think we did a good job matching that.”
Stockton is the defending champions and rank as one of the best teams this season. Yet, Kaluma had a remarkable performance that kept the Lakers within grasp of victory.
Although the Lakers fell short, this game showed that South Bay has a dangerous weapon. Kaluma is the heart of the South Bay offense and is the biggest x-factor come playoff time.
