To say the Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the first round of the NBA Playoffs shorthanded is an understatement, as several star players suffered injuries just before the regular season ended.
Both Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic suffered season-ending injuries in the Lakers’ blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, leaving them unable to help the team win late-season games to determine playoff seeding. Despite their absences, LeBron James stepped up significantly, returning to his previous role as the team’s top option.
Neither Doncic nor Reaves will suit up for the first round, when the Lakers will face Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. Amid his starting players being unavailable, head coach JJ Redick responded to questions about whether Bronny James might be able to contribute.
“We’re gonna have to have all hands on deck this series. When you’re shorthanded,” Redick told reporters. “He’s gotta be ready.”
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Asked about Bronny’s improvement over the past season between games for the Lakers and their G League team, the South Bay Lakers, Redick sounded optimistic about what he can bring to the floor for them.
“I think Bronny’s improved a lot. I think we trust him. The shooting piece I’m a believer in is his ability to shoot it well over the last two years in the G League. I know there was a stretch recently where he didn’t shoot it well, and had a nice shooting game against Utah,” the Lakers coach said.
Along with that, Redick said Bronny has “improved a ton defensively” regarding his “body positioning both on and off ball,” and the team wants to see him continue to “evolve as a disruptive defender.”
Bronny hasn’t seen too much playing time with the Lakers and averaged 2.9 points, 1.2 assists, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.5 steals per game in the regular season. However, he contributed 11 points with four assists and a rebound in his team’s recent blowout win over the Jazz, showing his potential. In that game, he also shot 3-for-4 from downtown.
He’s never scored more than 12 points in an NBA game. However, he has clearly shown his abilities for South Bay in the G League, averaging 21.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in 34.2 minutes per game.
One contributing factor in boosting his confidence when playing in NBA games is probably having his father suited up and, more than a few times, on the court at the same time for the Lakers. The two have been involved in several father-to-son and son-to-father assist moments, creating some memorable history.
They could have more of the same against the Rockets in the playoffs, but an upset is not in the early predictions. As of this writing, the Lakers are significant underdogs to win the series against Durant and the Rockets, suggesting they might need a lot of big performances from LeBron to have any chance of escaping the first round.
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