On October 11, Beijing time, in the NBA preseason, the Lakers played against the Bucks, and the 40-year-old veteran James still started the game. Previously, James and his son Bronny had already played at the same time, but since the preseason is not counted in the NBA statistics, the record of James and his son playing on the same court in the NBA court will be born in the regular season, and fans still need to be patient. The 20-year-old Bronny is the No. 55 rookie in the second round in 2024, and after being drafted by the Lakers, he was given a 4-year rookie contract, but Bronny has never been able to prove that he can play in the NBA, and the main reason for joining the Lakers is his father James.
The Lakers and Bucks had a close game, with the Lakers trailing by six points at 52-58 at halftime. Lakers coach Redick called a timeout after the opening 100 seconds, when the Lakers were only 0-5 down, but Redick was cautious, and the Lakers came back from the timeout to make a 9-0 comeback. At the end of the second quarter, James was hit by Brother Alphabet on the inside, but the referee did not blow the foul.
In the second half, the Lakers were able to go back and forth with the Bucks in the third quarter, losing by only 2 points in the second quarter 22-24, and Bronny came on at the end of the quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Bucks played 7-0 and the difference completely widened, the Lakers had fallen behind by 15 points, Redick quickly adjusted, and after Bronny went down, the Lakers blasted out 17-0 to overtake the Bucks. The Lakers then took firm control of the game and eventually defeated the Bucks 107-102.
In terms of statistics, the Lakers' James played 15 minutes, scoring 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists on 4-of-11 shooting, and his efficiency was relatively average. Hachimura had 14 points and 5 rebounds, Brother Thick Mei scored 11 points and 8 rebounds on 5-of-14 shooting, Russell was 3-of-10, and the Lakers' core performance was relatively average. Bronny played 6 minutes off the bench, 0 of 4 did not score, and the main statistics such as rebounds, assists, and steals were all 0, which also shows that Bronny can't play in the NBA at all. The Bucks' Antetokounmpo had 20 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and Lillard had eight points, four rebounds and four assists on 2-of-7 shooting.
After the game, the Lakers general was interviewed. Core forward Hachimura pointed out the key to the Lakers' new season, the first 40 games of last season were too lax, causing the team to stumble to the playoffs, and in the 24-25 season, the Lakers must be ahead of schedule. Lakers coach Redick scored his first coaching career win, and he also took the ball away as a memento.
In fact, for the Lakers, the most important thing is not to beat the Bucks in the preseason, and Redick's words are the most terrible for the Lakers' opponents. "I definitely don't take lightly what the Lakers' young players have done, it's really impressive," Redick said. In this game, the Lakers' two rookies performed well, Knecht scored 13 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, and he was full of confidence in the interview, claiming to help the Lakers reach the NBA Finals in the new season, and it is estimated that James would not dare to say so. Another rookie, Olivari, had 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, both of whom are expected to make the rotation and become a regular in time, and the Lakers have stockpiled a group of young stars.
The core lineup of the Lakers team has not changed much, James and thick eyebrows are still at their peak, and several young Lakers also dare to fight, which makes people look forward to the next performance. The goal of the Lakers is definitely to go further in the playoffs, but the season is very long, and the biggest suspense is whether Bronny can stay with the team smoothly, he does not have the ability to play NBA games, and may be abandoned at any time!