Bronny James’ final run-out before making his official NBA debut

The Lakers were left at the mercy of a poorly constructed NBA preseason schedule and opted to let themselves go in the team’s last friendly before the new 2024/25 campaign officially begins next week.

Bronny James, the best of a bad bunch

JJ Redick’s team played the second of two matches on consecutive nights and their rivals took advantage of that to serve up an authentic drubbing. Bronny James, one of the most active and successful in a team that was otherwise an absolute mess. With it, he concluded a run of preparation matches which started against the Suns, ended against the Warriors, two of the top sides in the Western Conference and against whom his famous father, personifying Durant and Curry, has had a thousand battles over the years.

NBA doubleheader to kickstart the new season

The result was an absolute embarrassment: a painful 132-74 defeat at the Chase Center in San Francisco. It brought the preseason to a close with the new campaign set to tip off on Tuesday night - an evening in which the Lakers are the protagonists of a double-header. The 2024/25 season gets underway with the Celtics taking on the Knicks, then the Lakers face the Timberwolves a couple of hours later.

There are no conclusions to be drawn from a game like last night’s. Redick only fielded eight players, all of whom have to earn minutes in the rotation, while Kerr’s team, with some significant performances, took full advantage.

Knecht, the other Lakers rookie, was coming off a prodigy, scoring 35 total points and scoring 20 of the club’s last 22, and he didn’t even take off his jersey against the Warriors. Only the inside game was renowned, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish, and the latter of them signed a 1/11 in field goals that speaks clearly of the mentality with which the game was faced on his side.

Nothing clear can be drawn from the results of these friendlies either, it has never happened, but it is worth noting that the Golden State Warriors have won all six games they have played in this season’s preseason. A double against the Lakers and Kings, plus the Clippers and Pistons. But nothing more.

Soon we will be seeing LeBron and Bronny, father and son, out on court together. The first opportunity will be on Tuesday when the Timberwolves are guests at Crypto.com Arena. The season opener tips off at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on TNT.