Many were excited about Bronny James ' Las Vegas Summer League debut game. Unfortunately, James did not perform well in the Los Angeles Lakers ' 99-80 loss to the Houston Rockets. He finished with eight points on a dismal 3-for-14 shooting from the field.
In contrast, Houston's third overall pick, Reed Sheppard, was the player of the game. The Kentucky product scored 23 points on an efficient 9-for-17, including four three-pointers out of six attempts. While it was a disappointing game for Bronny, he is still confident he can have a promising rookie year.
"I always try to use my athleticism to my advantage. Drilling that into my head as it can open up my shot a bit even though it hasn't been falling, just opening up something. I just feel like I'm in a little slump right now," Bronny said after the loss to Houston.
Redick is still excited about Bronny
The new head coach of the Lakers, JJ Redick , is still high on Bronny despite disappointing performances in the California Classic and Vegas. Amidst the nepotism discourse in the NBA community, JJ was on the broadcast talking to Mark Jones and Doris Burke about what he has observed from the younger James and what could work in the upcoming season.
"I thought the last game of the Cali Classic, defensively, he was terrific. He had eight or nine possessions where it was ball pressure or switching, just making plays defensively," Redick said on the broadcast. " That's been a real point of emphasis in all my conversations in my times on the practice floor. We want him pressuring the ball. I told him yesterday, I said, 'If you get blown by, if you have 10 fouls, that's on me. I want you up pressuring the ball.'"
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Other rookies had good performances in the game
While most of the spotlight was on Bronny, two other rookies shone in this matchup: Houston's Sheppard and another Lakers rookie, 17th overall pick Dalton Knecht. The 23-year-old from Tennessee performed well, scoring 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting.
Knecht looks built for the Lakers lineup, as he is a mobile off-ball shooter and is NBA-ready. He is an older rookie, but that bodes well for his role on the Lakers because nech Redick would love to make Dalton run through off-ball screens to get an open shot from beyond the arc during the regular season.
For Houston, Sheppard is the best shooter from the 2024 Draft. He met expectations in the game against LA since he showcased his range, shooting a few shots from the logo.
Bronny naturally gets the spotlight, but the fans should also get excited about this upcoming rookie class. Some talented players, including Knecht, are on the same team. The rest of the Summer League will be fun because everyone will be looking to have breakout games.
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