Lakers Make Shocking Bronny James Decision in Win Against Heat

In a surprising move, Lakers head coach JJ Redick kept second-year guard Bronny James on the court for the majority of the crunch-time minutes during their 130-120 victory over the 

Bronny, who finished with two points, two assists and three steals, played a total of 18 minutes, most of which were in the fourth quarter. While his numbers don’t jump off the screen, the son of LeBron James made some critical defensive plays, especially in the waning moments of the game, which earned JJ Redick’s praise.

After the game, Redick explained why he subbed Bronny into the game at the 7:32 mark of the fourth quarter and kept him in until the final minute.

“I thought he was really good on the ball. He got a steal off the ball, but I thought he was good on the ball,” Redick said after the game, 

Bronny James Made ‘Play of the Game’

Redick praised Bronny for applying the same on-ball defensive pressure during the Lakers’ 122-108 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers last week. Although Bronny went scoreless in 20 minutes of that game, he came away with a steal and a block.

“Now I’ve seen it twice over the last week or so — he was really just a force in terms of containment and physicality,” Redick said of Bronny.

“Then he made arguably the play of the game: when Luka was double-teamed, he was the next guy, drove the closeout, got to the paint, read the defense, and ended up getting his teammate a wide-open three.”

The “play of the game” Redick is referring to came at the 6:53 mark in the fourth quarter when Bronny found Marcus Smart for a corner three, which gave the 

Bronny James Finishes Lob Dunk

The 21-year-old’s only basket of the game came when he caught a lob dunk from point guard Austin Reaves with 1:19 left in the first quarter. That field goal gave the Lakers a 40-30 lead after Luka Doncic got the ball rolling with his rapid-fire start.

Reaves, who finished with 26 points and 11 assists, said that he may be the first player in NBA history to throw a lob to a father and a son, referencing the many alley-oop connections between himself and LeBron James.

“I’ve got to be the first person in NBA history to throw a father a lob and a son a lob,” Reaves said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It was a pretty special moment.”

Incidentally, the basket marked Bronny’s first field goal of the season after he went 0-for-5 through his first three outings. The second-year guard is averaging 0.5 points, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals through four games, while clocking 11.5 minutes per night.

49ers trade deadline plans are now obvious after latest injury update

The San Francisco 49ers notched another win on Sunday, moving to 6-3 after defeating the New York Giants 34-24. While winning has been a theme for the Niners this season, so have significant injuries. Unfortunately, San Francisco experienced both in Week 9.

The major injury in this game happened to Mykel Williams, who is feared to have suffered a torn ACL.

The rookie edge defender will be the latest key player the 49ers lose for the season, and also the latest edge in San Francisco to go down with an injury. The Niners were already thin at that position and were expected to acquire an edge defender ahead of the trade deadline, but now they may be forced to make a trade if Williams is out for the remainder of the year.

Early in the season, San Francisco lost perennial Pro Bowler and 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa to an ACL injury. Bosa’s absence put a strain on the group, and that strain was intensified when Bryce Huff went down with a hamstring injury in Week 7. Huff is expected to return this year, but he has missed the last two games, leaving the 49ers without much of a pass rush.

Now, Williams has joined his veterans on the injury report, and San Francisco has no choice but to add a veteran edge defender. Fortunately for the Niners, there are options. The most likely options both play for the Miami Dolphins, who have officially opened up for business after falling to 2-7 and firing their general manager. Outside linebackers Bradley Chubb and Matthew Judon are both trade candidates, and San Francisco could actually use both of them.

With the trade deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 4, the 49ers will surely be active up until that point.

San Francisco clearly has a competitive team, so it needs to try and fill the gaps while it can.

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