Bronny James To Start In Los Angeles Lakers Season Finale vs. Portland Trail Blazers?

Lakers guard Luka Doncic has also missed time this season and has been on the injury report numerous times. Neither James nor Doncic has missed too many games this season that will make them ineligible for awards, so resting starters could be a move the Lakers make.

With the potential for resting starters, there is a call to allow the former USC Trojans guard to make his first start. Against the Rockets, Bronny James played four minutes, scoring three points, with one assist and one rebound. James has now made nine three-point shots in his rookie season.

His performance caused excitement across social media and in the stadium. While James is not lighting up the stats sheet, he is developing well in his rookie season.

This season, the rookie guard is averaging 5.5 minutes and 2.2 points per game. He is the most successful as a playmaker, averaging 0.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 0.2 steals.

James has been scrutinized throughout his rookie season. In a game where the final score will not impact the Lakers' season, giving James the start, or even an increase in minutes, James could show why he deserves to be in the NBA.

Although Lakers coach JJ Redick did not say who would be playing in the final game of the season, he did say post-game that the team has been working on a game plan. 

“We started working yesterday, we spent about 45 minutes this morning, starting to just map out, we obviously don’t know when we’re going to play, but starting to map out next week. And it’s going to be important over the next eight, nine days to, you know, stay in that rhythm, and we have to be smart about it,” Redick said. “We want to prioritize rest and recovery, of course, but we got to also stay in that rhythm.” 

The Lakers will also need to make sure their players are not rusty heading into the playoffs with too much time off. Whether James can get the start or an increased playing time, it would be beneficial to the team to let the players rest while seeing what their rookie guard can do. 

In the G League, James only played in 11 games, but he started in each game, averaging 34.2 minutes. In his 11 games, James averaged 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

James’s best game of the NBA season was against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 20. The team rested many starters, and the rookie earned 30 minutes. In the game, James scored 17 points with five assists, three rebounds, and one block. He finished the game with a field goal percentage of 70.0.

The Lakers' final game of the season will be on April 13 against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

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