LeBron, Anthony Davis Excel in Lakers Preseason Loss to Suns, LeBron and Bronny Play Together

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

It was a big night for LeBron James. First, he made his preseason debut, and looked excellent in the process. 19 points in 16 minutes on 8-12 shooting, plus five rebounds and four assists to go with a pair of blocks. But more importantly (certainly for him) was sharing the court with Bronny James to open the second quarter. It was four relatively uneventful minutes that were clearly deeply meaningful to both father and son.

It gave at least a glimpse into how the Lakers and JJ Redick would like to handle the real thing, once the regular season rolls around. (It was also a nice 20th birthday present for Bronny.)

Meanwhile, Anthony Davis also played very well in his first action of the preseason, scoring 17 points in 18 minutes, adding seven rebounds and three dimes. Overall, it was a very efficient night for starters not named Austin Reaves. Both Rui Hachimura (who was awful on Friday, and much better Sunday) and D'Angelo Russell were over 50% from the floor.

As a team, they shot 40 3-pointers, a number Redick was happy with (and seemed willing to see get higher). So that'll be something to watch.

Critically, in that half the stars played, Redick seemed to treat it like he would a regular season game. There were (save the moment with Bronny, which came with a purpose) no weird minutes or combos you wouldn't expect to see in a real game. Jalen Hood-Schifino, for example, coming off a very nice game Friday, didn't check in until the second half on Sunday. Cam Reddish, who was available, also didn't play until after the half. It is in keeping with Redick's approach of using everyone's time wisely. The top guys in the rotation are, more or less, pretty obvious. As are some of the floor combinations. Don't overcomplicate stuff. That was a big criticism of last year's staff.

Oh, the Lakers lost, but it doesn't matter. In the part of the game that was important - the run with the main players in the first half - the team looked good, and carried a nice lead into the break.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Lakers look good in the first half vs. Phoenix.
SEGMENT 2: What Sunday's rotation says about Redick.
SEGMENT 3: Bron and Bronny debut!

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