JJ Redick bizarrely sent in Bronny James in 1st qtr of humiliating loss to injury-riddled 76ers

Bronny James had a poor showing against the 76ers in the NBA after performing admirably in the G-League on Friday.

JJ Redick bizarrely sent in Bronny James in 1st qtr of humiliating loss to injury-riddled 76ers

Bronny James and JJ Redick

Slowly but undoubtedly Bronny James is starting to disprove his skeptics. With 31 points against the Rip City Remix on Friday, the youngster set a new career high and recorded his second G League game with thirty points. However, this has not been the case for James in his most recent matchup in the NBA against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

With the squad he currently has, JJ Redick is making every effort to push the boundaries. He decided for Bronny to try to be Tyrese Maxey‘s on-ball defender in the first quarter. This was during the team’s 104-118 loss to the undermanned 76ers. Unfortunately, Bronny was a net negative on offense and was being roasted by Maxey, which resulted in very terrible minutes.

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Redick acknowledged that he put the 20-year-old in a difficult situation. But he justified the choice to play Bronny by pointing to the necessity for his energy. James finished with three rebounds, a block, and zero points (0–5 FG) in his 15 minutes of play. His participation during the Lakers’ garbage time fourth quarter, when they reduced a 23-point lead to a 14-point lead, helped him finish the game with an overall score of -8.

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All said and done, Bronny James still has a lot of time to improve and develop. He still is an unfinished product, with the Lakers management managing his minutes carefully. Despite performing admirably in the G-League, he still is not ‘NBA ready.’ When forced to protect former NBA All-Star Maxey, Bronny looked completely lost. Mostly, because he was a second-round choice and couldn’t compete with a guard like Maxey.

JJ Redick clarifies Bronny James’ inclusion against 76ers

Bronny James has improved to 16.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 27 minutes a game in the G League. Bronny was convinced by this that he should play a larger part in the NBA. But he hasn’t done well in the NBA thus far. Despite this, Lakers head coach JJ Redick granted him playing time against the Philadelphia 76ers and discussed the matter.

Just felt like on a back-to-back, just him giving us energy was the goal. I put him in a tough spot, flying out yesterday, nationally televised game, in Philly, all that stuff. He didn’t play well. He’s been playing great in the G (League), so I have confidence in him. But obviously, he didn’t provide that at a high level.

JJ Redick told the media

After the game, Bronny talked about his minutes with the media, highlighting his contribution to the team’s “energy” on several occasions. However, Redick may find it worthwhile to give Bronny some serious minutes back-to-back for his general growth as a player. Given that, it remains to be seen how Bronny develops going forward into the season.