Brony James baits the haters by proving he’s no scrub
On Monday night, The Los Angeles Lakers went to Portland and posted a relatively comfortable road win over the upstart Trail Blazers despite the play without Luka Doncic and Austin Reevesnext to LeBron James. The Lakers were able to pull off this win thanks to 29 points from Rui Hachimura and 28 from former Blazers center Deandre Ayton, as well as an unexpected 25-point outburst from guard Nick Smith Jr.
The Lakers also received a strong contribution Bronnie Jamesson of LeBron James and a 2024 second-round draft pick, who had five points and six assists in the win.
James there are already minutes recorded in five of the Lakers’ first eight games so far this year, including rotation minutes in the last two against the Miami Heat and now the Blazers. In the game against Miami, James produced one of the highlights of the early season for Los Angeles by finishing a fast break initiated by Reaves with an impressive dunk.
Overall, James looks much more comfortable on the floor and seems to be adjusting well to the speed and physicality of basketball at the NBA level.
Hot start for the Lakers
With the win over the Trail Blazers, the Los Angeles Lakers are now 6-2 after putting their first shot against the Golden State Warriors completely in the rearview mirror.
The play of Doncic and Reaves has grabbed most of the headlines, but arguably the most important story of the early season for the Lakers is the fact that the team appears to have more depth than some expected, with players like Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton performing above season expectations.
Of course, we’re less than two weeks into the year, and it’s entirely possible that the law of averages kicks in sooner rather than later and the Lakers return to the middle spot in the Western Conference that most expected them to occupy.
However, an early return to this team for the 2025-26 season is encouraging to say the least.
2025-11-04 18:22:00
