The sixth game in eight nights for the Lakers meant they were going to have to pay for all the energy they used fighting short handed over the last week.
It meant Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic needed to sit out because of sore ankles, Jarred Vanderbilt had to rest an injured groin and Dorian Finney-Smith was out because of nagging ankle issues. LeBron James also missed his seventh consecutive game because of a groin strain.
So who was in?
“The healthy players are gonna play tonight,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Read more: Luka Doncic’s hot first quarter sparks Lakers to win over shorthanded Nuggets
That Bronny James is one of the healthy ones, again, is a reminder of how much of his journey is already house money, the Lakers rookie surviving a cardiac arrest less than two years ago.
With the Lakers down to 10 available players against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in a 118-89 lopsided loss, Bronny James got his longest runway yet to show the steps he’s taken largely in the shadows of the G League.
James scored a career-high 17 points, sparking the Lakers’ only positive quarter, the second, when the team outscored the Bucks 27-23.
James made seven of 10 from the field along with three rebounds, five assists and three turnovers. He played a season-high 30 minutes for the Lakers (43-26).
“I feel like it’s all coming back. Just being out for that long, stuff that I had to go through, wind-wise and lung-wise,” James said. “Just, I think I’ve been getting more comfortable as I get the reps under me and get the games under me and practices and learning from the bench and stuff like that. And I feel like it’s good for me.”
The performance caps a stretch where he has been much more comfortable on NBA courts. He has made 15 of his last 26 shots over an eight-game stretch that’s included real rotation minutes twice, including Thursday. Dalton Knecht also scored 17 points.
The stretch has happened amid increased scrutiny on his standing in the league after a confrontation between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith over the latter’s commentary on the Lakers’ second-round rookie and all-time leading scorer’s son.
Bronny James credited the coaching staff with instilling belief in him that they thought he had a bright future in the NBA. The combination of his athleticism, the potential in his shooting and his character has made Redick a believer in him since he became Lakers coach.
“Since Day 1, I’ve just been impressed with the person that he is. … And the way LeBron and Savannah have raised him was obvious to me from the moment I started spending time with him on the court this summer.
“He was certainly going to be an NBA player and I still believe that he’ll be an NBA player.”
Bronny James credited that level-headedness for helping him navigate a life where his merits have been judged and rejudged based on his famous father. And James knows that one strong game against the Bucks isn’t the end of his arc, just like rocky appearances early in the season weren’t either — despite the discourse either sparked or certainly will spark.
“Just putting my head down and working. I feel like that’s the only thing that I can control right now is going in every day and staying ready to play, staying ready to learn, getting the work in after hours, early mornings, stuff like that. Just all the controllables that I can do myself,” Bronny James said. “There’s not really much I can do (about) people, random people, talking about me every day. Can’t really do much about that, so I just go in the gym and work, put my head down and try to get better.”
The next major opportunity will likely be put on hold, the Lakers looking close to getting back to full health.
Before the game, Redick said the Lakers’ injured players, which also included Rui Hachimura, are all “day to day” with their ailments. Television cameras captured LeBron James going through a high-speed pregame workout Thursday.
Asked if either James or Hachimura could return Saturday when the Lakers host the Chicago Bulls, Redick said he’s “hopeful.”
The outcome of Thursday’s game didn’t provide much hope, the usefulness of it as any big-picture barometer negated by all the pieces missing, including Bucks guard Damian Lillard.
But Bronny James’ readiness to embrace his biggest NBA opportunity to date was certainly positive.
“I’ve gained my confidence and gained my comfortability over just reps and getting out there and taking advantage of my opportunity if it’s given,” he said. “So just being ready at all times, I think, that’s the biggest thing for me.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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