Bronny James has always been about putting in the work and seizing the opportunities as they come. Right now, with the Los Angeles Lakers battered and bruised, the opening is certainly there for him. The young guard is doing his part to satisfy the deliverables too.
In the Lakers' resurgent 119-103 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, James had another solid outing. Playing 21 minutes off the bench — the second most out of any Laker — Bronny finished with 10 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, three assists, and two steals in the win.
It was yet another positive outing that should work towards keeping JJ Redick's trust ahead of the NBA Playoffs. Bronny has gotten his opportunity for more minutes with Marcus Smart being out due to a right ankle injury, and the results have been more positive than not with James.
Redick has not always been the most willing to feature the youth in the rotation throughout the campaign. However, with the injuries stacked up against the Lakers, and the head coach looking to identify his nine-man rotation for the postseason, Bronny is becoming difficult to ignore.
Bronny James is suddenly a must-play for the Lakers in the NBA Playoffs
No one is going to lobby for James to slide in as the sixth man, or anything of the sort, for the Lakers once players like Smart and Jaxson Hayes return to add what reinforcements they can get without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. However, are there really nine guys ahead of Bronny at the moment?
The young Lakers guard showed all the right signs of development in the G League throughout the entire campaign with South Bay. The NBA-level product has not been perfect, but it has been encouraging.
Defense will always be a strength for James. As the disciplined effort grows on that end, Bronny will only continue to become more and more of a positive there. His offense is always the bigger variable, but a lot of the Lakers' second unit is flawed in that department.
"I'm willing to take any criticism or help that [Redick] throws at me, and I'm ready to take advantage of opportunity, if it's given," James said before the season started.
The latter has been offered to Bronny, and he has indeed made a good case for himself.
There was always hope that James could be a rotation-level player for the Lakers in his developmental journey. The thought of it happening in this year's playoffs was a long shot at one point. That was then and this is now. With Los Angeles banged up, there should be some newfound acceptance of the idea that James may already have a strong case to be one of JJ's nine.