5 Hot Takes After Lakers Opening Night Win: Predicting When Bronny Will Play Again

The NBA's 2024-25 opening night is in the books.

The Boston Celtics absolutely throttled the New York Knicks, 132-109.

And the Los Angeles Lakers, on a night highlighted by LeBron James and Bronny James becoming the first father-son duo to share the floor in NBA history, beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 110-103.

The James men will understandably get most of the headlines, but there was plenty of hot-take-worthy action in L.A.

on Tuesday.

And we have the five best angles below.

These are supposed to be hot, right? In an NBA that includes Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, and on a team that got knocked out of the first round last season, AD will get some MVP consideration in 2024-25.

Tuesday, he dominated both ends of the floor, even with four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert often covering him.

He finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

And though his season-long averages aren't going to be at that level, with LeBron passing his 40th birthday this season, AD will take on slightly more offensive responsibility and score a bit more like he did at the height of his New Orleans Pelicans years.

The Lakers should be better (more on that later) and Davis can average around 27 points, 12 boards and 2.5 blocks (with DPOY-level impact).

With that and the L.A.

bump, he'll at least be in the conversation.

Bronny played fewer than three minutes, mostly stood in the corner on offense and looked undersized in most of his matchups.

He should spend the time developing in the G-League, and there's nothing wrong with that.

He was the 55th pick.

But the Lakers have another, far less discussed rookie who'll be a fixture in the rotation all season long.

Dalton Knecht played 16 minutes on Tuesday, hit a three, handed out two assists and was plus-7 (a bench high).

In five preseason games, he averaged 18.0 points and 3.6 threes.

And that outside shooting will be crucial for a team that's looking to get more threes up under new coach and former three-point specialist JJ Redick.

But that's not all Knecht does.

You can see his feel for the game when you watch him play.

As it turns out, there's still some benefit in drafting older, more experienced players.

And Knecht's feel, vision and passing will make him one of this second unit's better playmakers, too.

This might not seem all that hot for a team that went to the conference finals in 2023 and then made the playoffs again in 2024, but firmly predicting that anyone in the middle of the West will outright make the postseason is pretty bold.

The conference is absolutely loaded.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks should all be in the title hunt.

The Phoenix Suns have had a year to build chemistry and continuity.

The T'Wolves lost on Tuesday, but they still have a rising superstar in Anthony Edwards.

The Golden State Warriors still have Stephen Curry.

The Memphis Grizzlies are getting Ja Morant back.

And we still have the New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings to mention.

Heck, the San Antonio Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul, might even push for a spot in the play-in tournament.

So, yeah, putting L.A.

in the playoffs comes with a little heat, but the Lakers looked better on opening night.

Knecht brings a new dynamic to the bench.

LeBron didn't look noticeably slower or less explosive than he was last season.

He had one finish on the baseline that a soon-to-be-40-year-old simply shouldn't be capable of.

AD can win Defensive Player of the Year and even crash the MVP conversation.

And there still might be a trade out there to bring another star into the mix.

L.A.

can trade multiple picks and has plenty of movable salary attached to D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura.

Consider this an endorsement of the Lakers' playoff chances without making a huge deal, though.

Redick's insistence on more threes, his willingness to call timeouts to stifle momentum (as he did in the second half on Tuesday) and his introduction of a little more ball and player movement will make this team better.

It'll help Hachimura, too.

He was only 1-of-4 from deep against Minnesota, but he finished with 18 points (which trailed only AD among Lakers), and Redick got him the ball in positions where he could use his other strengths.

Hachimura buried defenders after basket cuts twice.

He found soft spots in the paint when defenses collapsed on Davis or LeBron.

He hit some mid-range shots.

And while his name is certain to come up in plenty of trade rumors between now and February, Hachimura's combination of size, shooting and defensive versatility will ultimately make him a keeper for this season.

Bronny averaged 4.8 points and shot 36.6 percent from the field in 25 games in college.

In all but six of those games, he came off the bench for USC.

In six summer league games, he had 42 points on 52 shots.

He went just 3-of-23 from deep.

In the preseason, he had 25 points on 37 shots and went 1-of-12 from three.

And while his calling card is defense (and he has looked a bit better on that end), he's undersized against wings and probably not quite savvy enough to stay against today's NBA guards.

In other words, Bronny isn't ready for real NBA minutes yet.

And that's fine.

Most players picked 55th overall aren't ready on opening night.

It made sense to get the historic moment for he and his father out of the way on opening night, but he really should be playing and developing for the South Bay Lakers for the foreseeable future.

If a few months there get him to the level of a ninth or 10th man, great.

If not, there's plenty of time for Bronny to reach his potential.

He's just 20 years old..

This article has been shared from the original article on bleacherreport, here is the link to the original article.