Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James is not expected to be part of their playoff rotation. But he’s playing a key role in the Lakers’ preparation for their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
His role?
Simulate Anthony Edwards, the dynamic Timberwolves star, during team practice.
Lakers coach JJ Redick made the revelation following their first scrimmage on Wednesday.
“JJ Redick says Shake Milton and Bronny James split time playing the role of Anthony Edwards on the Wolves scout team at Lakers practice Wednesday,” wrote ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on X.
Edwards though is looking forward to facing Bronny’s father, LeBron James, in the playoffs.
“It means a lot to match up against him, man,” Edwards said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Probably goes down as the greatest player to ever play basketball. Trying to get putting him out of the playoffs under my belt is going to be a tough one, but it’s going to be a fun road.”
Last season, Edwards sent future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant home in the first round of the playoffs with an emphatic sweep. It will be a tough act to follow as the 40-year-old James and the Lakers have been playing an elite defense in the second half of the season.
On the flip side, “The Wolves have been using Joe Ingles as Luka Dončić in their scouting groups,” Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported.
Edwards and Dončić are the focal points of both team’s offense.
Lakers Wary of Anthony Edwards’ 3-Point Volume
Learning from their last year’s Western Conference Finals loss, Edwards came into the season with a vastly improved 3-point shooting that made him a three-level scorer.
The 23-year-old Edwards led the league in total 3s made this season with 320. In the regular season, Edwards threw an average of 10.3 3-pointers per game, a significant jump from 6.7 in the previous season, and made 4.1 for a 39.5% accuracy — all career-highs.
Simulating that with Bronny and Milton, who are shooting under 30% from the 3-point line this season, is a tough ask.
“The thing that jumps out at you is just the 3-point volume,” Redick told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Edwards. “His ability to make shots at a really high level off the bounce. His pick-and-roll threes, his iso threes, dribble-up transition threes, he shoots them all at a really high clip.
“You know, I think he’s still got his mid-range package, he’s still got the ability to get to the rim and finish, but not many guys that can shoot off the dribble at volume from three can also make 40% of them. You know, that unlocks a lot.”
Timberwolves ‘Present a Lot of Problems’
The Lakers have split their four meetings with the Timberwolves this season.
Taking that into account, the Lakers will not have a walk in the park against the team that went to the Western Conference Finals last season.
Their focus will not only be on Edwards as the the Timberwolves now have depth after swapping Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo before the season.
Redick said Minnesota’s 49-33 record does not reflect its true standing in the league as they have lost Randle and DiVincenzo for a big chunk of the season due to injuries. But they went 8-2 in their final 10 games with a healthy team to punch a playoff ticket.
“Very difficult opponent,” Redick told reporters on Sunday. “They’ve played as well as anyone lately. I believe they’re one of four teams in the top 10 in offense and defense, so they present a lot of problems.”
The Timberwolves finished the regular season at No. 8 in offensive rating (115.7) and No. 6 in defensive rating (110.6) with the fourth-best net rating (5.0).
