Lakers ‘Needed’ Bronny James Against Pacers, And More Praise

Gabriel Arteaga
Gabriel Arteaga
7 Min Read

Originally published by LakersNation.com

Bronny James has played sparingly for the Los Angeles Lakers through his first two NBA seasons. Because the Lakers have been set at the guard positions, James has gotten most of his basketball reps with the South Bay team.

As things stand, James’ contributions largely come in garbage time though he’s managed to show flashes in limited minutes.

Lakers praise Bronny James

The Lakers took a comfortable lead on the Pacers Wednesday night, allowing head coach JJ Redick to play James. In 13 minutes off the bench, James recorded four points, one rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block, acting as a spark on both ends of the floor.

JJ Redick

“He’s gotten significantly better,” Redick said of James on the Spectrum SportsNet broadcast. “I know our staff has a lot of confidence in him. Felt like this was a game we really needed him. He had two really, really good defensive possessions, individual defense, in the first half.

“I think the biggest thing with him is he’s got a lot of confidence right now. I know he didn’t make his 3 tonight, but he’s got a lot of confidence in his shot right now. He’s having a fantastic season with South Bay. He’s been, arguably, the best player for the last three or four weeks in our stay-ready games. He’s got a bounce to his step right now, and I think that just comes from developing that confidence.”

Luka Doncic

“Definitely a big improvement from last year. I saw in training camp he was doing some stuff that I was really impressed with. He did a great job today. Big game from him, that pull-up two was a big bucket. It was probably one of the most important shots of the game. I think he did really great in those minutes.”

Austin Reaves

“He was good. Good minutes. He made one of the biggest shots of the night with a pull-up two. I think we were up 13 at the time, and he got it to 15. He just needs reps. That’s it. Played hard, did what he was supposed to do. I was really happy for him.

“He’s just gotten better every single day. He doesn’t take shortcuts, he loves working, does the right things, keeps his head down, doesn’t care about all the noise. Just continues to work and get better every single day. He also loves to golf. Golf game has gotten a lot better too.”

Jaxson Hayes

“Obviously he’s a real quick, athletic player. It really shows on the defensive end. I thought he did great today. He got that rebound and dunk, he had a bunch of other deflections and he was just stopping guys. He did wonderful today.”

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Bronny James has played sparingly for the Los Angeles Lakers through his first two NBA seasons. Because the Lakers have been set at the guard positions, James has gotten most of his basketball reps with the South Bay team.

As things stand, James’ contributions largely come in garbage time though he’s managed to show flashes in limited minutes.

Lakers praise Bronny James

The Lakers took a comfortable lead on the Pacers Wednesday night, allowing head coach JJ Redick to play James. In 13 minutes off the bench, James recorded four points, one rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block, acting as a spark on both ends of the floor.

JJ Redick

“He’s gotten significantly better,” Redick said of James on the Spectrum SportsNet broadcast. “I know our staff has a lot of confidence in him. Felt like this was a game we really needed him. He had two really, really good defensive possessions, individual defense, in the first half.

“I think the biggest thing with him is he’s got a lot of confidence right now. I know he didn’t make his 3 tonight, but he’s got a lot of confidence in his shot right now. He’s having a fantastic season with South Bay. He’s been, arguably, the best player for the last three or four weeks in our stay-ready games. He’s got a bounce to his step right now, and I think that just comes from developing that confidence.”

Luka Doncic

“Definitely a big improvement from last year. I saw in training camp he was doing some stuff that I was really impressed with. He did a great job today. Big game from him, that pull-up two was a big bucket. It was probably one of the most important shots of the game. I think he did really great in those minutes.”

Austin Reaves

“He was good. Good minutes. He made one of the biggest shots of the night with a pull-up two. I think we were up 13 at the time, and he got it to 15. He just needs reps. That’s it. Played hard, did what he was supposed to do. I was really happy for him.

“He’s just gotten better every single day. He doesn’t take shortcuts, he loves working, does the right things, keeps his head down, doesn’t care about all the noise. Just continues to work and get better every single day. He also loves to golf. Golf game has gotten a lot better too.”

Jaxson Hayes

“Obviously he’s a real quick, athletic player. It really shows on the defensive end. I thought he did great today. He got that rebound and dunk, he had a bunch of other deflections and he was just stopping guys. He did wonderful today.”

If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.