On the day the team’s four top scorers, including LeBron James and Luka Doncic, were sidelined with injuries, Bronny James took the opportunity to “take the spotlight”.
The Los Angeles Lakers are going through a “horrible” 8-day schedule with 6 days of playing, including 3 back-to-back matches (2 consecutive matches in 2 days). In order to avoid wearing down the pillars as the Playoffs are approaching, coach JJ Redick decided to let a series of players rest.
LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves all wore casual clothes for the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 21, leaving a lineup that was mostly bench players. And taking advantage of this opportunity, LeBron’s son Bronny James shined.
Playing 30 minutes (the highest number so far in his career), Bronny scored 17 points with high efficiency, reaching 7-10 FG (2-4 3PT) even though he came off the bench. Along with that, the player born in 2004 had 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 4 turnovers.
Along with Dalton Knecht, who also had 17 points, Bronny James scored the most points for the Los Angeles Lakers in this match and also set a career-high. However, this performance did not mean much because the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks by a difference of… 30 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the “herd” with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, leading Milwaukee to their 3rd win in the last 5 games despite Damian Lillard sitting out with an injury.
Highlights of Bronny James’ career-high 17 points against Milwaukee Bucks
Bronny James has been bouncing between the NBA and the NBA G-League this season. He has been a starter for the South Bay Lakers and has had some explosive games. Bronny James is averaging 20.6 points, 5.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds in the G-League.
But when he was called up to the first team, Bronny could not adapt to NBA basketball and often only entered the field when the match result was decided. It was not until today that the eldest son of the James family had the opportunity to play more because a series of pillars of the Los Angeles Lakers were absent.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are both sidelined to avoid overload, while LeBron James (groin) and Rui Hachimura (ankle) are yet to fully recover from old injuries.
With a 30-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers ceded 3rd place in the Western Conference standings to the Denver Nuggets and fell to 4th place.
Next Sunday (March 23), coach JJ Redick’s team will host the Chicago Bulls at home at 9:30 a.m. After that, the Lakers will enter a series of 4 away games in 6 days (including a pair of back-to-back matches) against the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies.
