Before Austin Reaves made his return to the Los Angeles Lakers, Bronny James enjoyed a spot in the team's playoff rotation as the ninth man. That may be a role the young guard has to reassume for the Lakers. This time around, though, it is going to be much more difficult on him.
Jarred Vanderbilt was knocked out of the Lakers' disappointing 108-90 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1. The athletic forward left the matchup with a finger injury. It has since been confirmed as a full dislocation and severe enough to put his Game 2 status is serious jeopardy.
That may genuinely be Bronny's cue to get back out there. While JJ Redick would be looking to replace a forward in the rotation this time, James' athleticism does lend itself well to the matchup with the Thunder. Plus, his father LeBron James is sure to get a jolt from the younger member of the family being out there.
Bronny enjoyed success in the first round against the Houston Rockets. His Game 3 performance was the brightest spot of his young playoff career. These are the Thunder, though. They represent a significantly more difficult challenge.
JJ Redick needs to debate feeding Bronny James to the wolves in Game 2
The Thunder have the best group of perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. They have the type of talent that gives players of Austin Reaves' quality a handful to deal with.
Bronny is far more raw. In particular, if the Lakers were going to have James out there for Game 2, there would be significant concerns about his unpolished handle being exploited for turnovers.
Oklahoma City forced Los Angeles into 18 giveaways in Game 1. If Bronny has the ball in his hands, the pests on the perimeter for the Thunder could smell blood in the water.
Granted, Redick and his coaching staff can scheme around that in the brief minutes that James could get. Any lineups that might feature Bronny could also be set up with other ball handlers to mostly take him off the rock. James could then just be deployed for his defense and otherwise.
However, this may be a moment of the stage being too large and the lights being too bright. As unspectacular as it may seem to some, Redick could also just turn to the more experienced veteran presence of Maxi Kleber to provide a small handful of minutes to replace Vanderbilt.
Bronny will certainly be on the radar for potential playoff action moving forward. Whether Redick pulls the trigger should be an incredibly calculated decision, given who the Lakers are up against.
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