LOS ANGELES — When an NBA team is missing several starters and faces a relatively healthy opponent like the Lakers did on Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs, you can generally expect two outcomes.
One reason these under-manned teams often struggle is that the difference in talent and lack of team chemistry can be just too much to overcome.
The Spurs dominated the game, defeating the Lakers 136-108, with the home team trailing by as much as 41 points and never closing the gap to less than 25 in the second half.
However, a silver lining for teams in this situation is that bench players or those who don’t usually see much playing time get a chance to shine.
Bronny James, the son of Lakers star LeBron James, was one of those players. He had his best scoring game of the season, finishing with a personal high of 12 points against the Spurs, along with six assists and three rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
“I feel different,” Bronny shared. “It’s much easier. My teammates and coaches believe in me, which is all I wanted. It’s nice to take advantage of the time I get.”
His performance was particularly notable since he hadn’t been getting significant minutes with the team’s South Bay G League affiliate until that game.
Last season, he played in 18 games there as part of his development, but most of his minutes with the Lakers came in situations that had already been decided. He hadn’t played in a G League game for over a month prior to this outing.
This season, he’s competed in nine G League games, but again, most of his time on the court with the Lakers has been during garbage time, except for a brief period earlier in the season when others were injured.
Despite this inconsistent playing time, Bronny demonstrated impressive confidence. He made two 3-pointers and executed a notable block against Kelly Olynyk, only to follow it up with a step-back three right in Olynyk’s face.
Even Coach J.J. Reddick noted that Victor Wembanyama had two strong defensive plays in the first half but was nearly impossible to stop, contributing a solid double-double of 40 points and 12 rebounds in just 26 minutes.
“Defensively, especially with this team, I want to play that role,” Bronny mentioned. “We have great players like Luka [Doncic], LeBron [James], and [Austin Reaves] who can score when we need points. But there’s definitely a need for players who can defend, like me and others.”
James provided another spark on what was otherwise a lackluster night for the Lakers when he set up an alley-oop for rookie forward Adu Tierro, who was playing his first game since returning from an injury.
“He had an amazing game, getting open and creating opportunities for others,” Tierro said. “When I saw Bronny with the ball, I raised my hand, and it felt like we had a connection.”
While it’s unlikely that this performance will alter Bronny’s position in the team’s rotation, on a night where the game’s outcome felt predetermined from the start, he showcased exactly what you hope for in a player at his position.
