The Los Angeles Lakers will have to rely on Bronny James more due to the recent injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Both starting backcourt members are ruled out for the rest of the regular season. The statuses are unknown if Doncic or Reaves will be able to suit up once the playoff starts in a few weeks. Head coach JJ Redick will have to get creative to finish the regular season missing two of his three best players.
The Lakers having a limited backcourt will hurt their depth. Fansided speculated the following about Bronny benefiting from this problem:
“Without Doncic or Reaves, Luke Kennard is the only healthy ball handler in Los Angeles that has gotten consistent minutes throughout the regular season. Of course, LeBron James is a ballhandler and can efficiently run an offense – but that takes him out of his current role.
There’s a real world, if Doncic and Reaves can’t suit up, that Bronny could end up playing significant minutes in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Lakers coach JJ Redick has been trusting Bronny a bit more in his second NBA season. As a rookie, he played in just 27 games. This year, he’s already appeared in 37 games.”
Luke Kennard is the only other player who could replace the minutes of Reaves and Doncic, but he’s already playing strong rotation minutes. Redick could easily opt for Bronny to get more playing time.
Why Bronny Playing More Makes Sense
Doncic and Reaves each averaged 36 minutes per game over the last ten games to open up about 70 extra minutes of playing time per game. Trusted role players Rui Hachimura and Kennard will likely play a lot more minutes with LeBron James running the offense.
However, the Lakers roster holds no other strong ball handling guards. Bronny stands out as the best option to have an increased role. The last five games have seen Bronny averaging 13 minutes per game and getting to share the court with his father LeBron more.
Veteran Marcus Smart returning from an injury will harm Bronny’s chance at minutes, but he hasn’t played March 21st and is already ruled out for the next game. Smart may return in time for the playoffs. However, these final regular season games will likely see him playing it safe. Bronny has a chance to further prove himself.
LeBron’s Free Agency Could Influence Bronny’s Playing Time
One interesting theory for why the Lakers would want to play Bronny more with a limited roster is appeasing LeBron ahead of free agency. Despite wanting him to take a pay cut, the Lakers value James as part of their core for a bigger title run next season.
Opposing teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors hope to have a chance to convince LeBron to jump ship. However, getting more playing time with Bronny is something that the Lakers can offer above every other team.
Redick playing them more to end the season will see LeBron getting that joy and likely prioritizing that in a hypothetical retirement year. Bronny also gets the chance to prove he deserves more consistent reserve guard minutes next season.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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