Bronny struggles in Vegas debut, Lakers fall to Rockets

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bronny James has gotten the message from his father and his coach: His transition to the Los Angeles Lakers is going to take some time and a lot of work.

And Friday only further proved what they’ve been saying.

James, the No. 55 overall pick in last month’s draft, struggled from the field and scored eight points as the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets 99-80 on the opening day of NBA Summer League.

Bronny’s dad, LeBron James, wasn’t there — he was with the U.S. Olympic team in Abu Dhabi, having arrived there earlier Friday to prepare for a pair of exhibitions next week as the Americans continue ramping up for the Paris Games.

But Bronny’s mom, Savannah, was in the crowd, which was sold out and mostly filled with fans wearing Lakers purple and gold. They roared when Bronny James was introduced, as was expected.

“The atmosphere, they came to support,” James said.

James’ final stats: 3 for 14 from the field, 0 for 8 on 3-pointers, five rebounds, two steals and three turnovers in 27 minutes. Through three games this summer, the first two coming at the California Classic — a smaller summer league in San Francisco — he’s shooting 23% and has missed all 12 of his tries from 3-point range.

“The shot hasn’t been falling,” James said.

Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke with ESPN during the second quarter Friday and in the on-air interview said that he has told Bronny James to focus on defense and what will be an intense player development program that the team will create for him.

“He had a heart procedure last year, up-and-down freshman year, obviously going through the pre-draft process, there’s a conditioning element to being able to play that way defensively,” Redick said. “But overall, we like what we’ve seen in practice. We like what we’ve seen in Summer League.”

LeBron James — who played in summer leagues at Orlando and Boston as a rookie — has already said that he wants his son to remember that the stats, good, bad or otherwise, don’t matter whatsoever this summer. He just wants to see growth and learning.

“The only thing that matters is him getting better and stacking days,” he said.

Bronny James had six of the Lakers’ first 13 points on Friday — a layup, two free throws and then a dunk where the guard who is perhaps a bit generously listed at 6-foot-2 showed off the athleticism by getting up from under the basket for a jam.

He didn’t score again until midway through the fourth quarter, getting a driving basket on a nifty move — starting with a left-hand dribble down the lane, then extending and getting a floater to fall with his right hand.

James’ first two games at the California Classic didn’t lead to much in the way of stats. He shot 3 for 12 from the floor, 1 for 4 from the foul line, went 0 for 4 on 3-pointers. He did average 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in 25 minutes per game in those two contests.

“I’m excited about Bronny,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said earlier in the week. “It’s a cool experience. Never been done before, never happened in basketball so it’s a cool experience to have him on our team and just kind of see him grow.”

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