Bronny James’ effort level is great, but at some point he has to make shots

Bronny James is a good , smart team basketball player. He showed why in his NBA summer debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday afternoon. Playing against the Sacramento Kings’ summer squad in San Francisco, Bronny showed his sound defensive instincts and a high basketball IQ. He read passing lanes. He knew where to position himself on the court. He moved the ball in the Lakers’ halfcourt sets. He wasn’t an impediment to his teammates and how they functioned.

However, any decent NBA player — more precisely, a player who is valuable at both ends of the floor — has to do certain things reasonably well to establish a long-term career in the pros. One of them is to put the ball in the basket. Again, we use the words “reasonably well.” Bronny doesn’t have to be a scoring champion or a 3-point wizard. He just needs to make enough of his shots on a relatively consistent basis. His Saturday shooting line: 2 for 9.

That won’t cut it, and Bronny knows it. He missed a few wide-open jump shots. Defenses are going to take away other players and force Bronny to hit perimeter jumpers. If he can’t hit enough of them, he won’t have a long-term home in the league. It’s no secret that Bronny’s shooting and scoring leave a lot to be desired. NBA scouts and evaluators know this is where he falls short. Let’s see if he can grow as an offensive threat. He can defend. Bronny has to shoot better to become a two-way player in the NBA.

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