JJ Redick Pulls Bronny James And Bench After Conceding 11-2 Run In One Minute

Lakers head coach JJ Redick was forced to send his starters back onto the court with 43.7 seconds remaining against Toronto after Bronny James and the bench conceded an 11-2 run in a single minute.

The dramatic sequence unfolded late in the fourth quarter on Sunday night.

Los Angeles appeared to be in complete control of the contest.

With only 2:28 remaining on the game clock, the Lakers held a commanding 122-107 advantage over the Toronto Raptors.

Believing the victory was well in hand, Redick opted to rest his primary lineup.

He pulled superstar Luka Doncic from the floor and inserted 22-year-old guard Bronny James.

Moments later, with 1:43 remaining and the Lakers leading 123-109, the coach emptied the rest of the bench.

What followed over the next sixty seconds was an absolute meltdown by the Los Angeles reserves.

The Raptors quickly seized on the sudden change in momentum.

Toronto knocked down a pair of three-pointers against the disorganized Lakers defense.

At the offensive end, the Los Angeles reserves struggled to maintain basic execution.

The backup unit missed key free throws that could have kept the Raptors at bay.

Ball security deteriorated almost immediately across the backcourt.

The reserves committed multiple turnovers in rapid succession.

Bronny committed a glaring mistake during that chaotic stretch.

His inbound pass struck the out-of-bounds line before it could reach a teammate.

Toronto continued to punish the Lakers with fast-break scoring opportunities.

In virtually one minute of game action, the bench surrendered an 11-2 scoring run.

With just 43.7 seconds left on the clock, Toronto guard Jaden Bradley stepped to the free-throw line.

Bradley was shooting to trim the Lakers' lead down to 125-120.

A comfortable 15-point cushion had vanished into thin air.

Facing the prospect of a historic collapse, Redick called a timeout.

The first-year head coach yanked the entire bench unit off the floor.

Redick sent his starting lineup back onto the hardwood to finish the game.

The starters restored order and guided the Lakers to a 131-125 victory.

THE BENCHING AND REDICK’S WARNING

Despite the victory, the late-game breakdown left a sour taste on the Lakers bench.

Redick did not hide his frustration when addressing the media following the contest.

The 42-year-old head coach made his expectations abundantly clear.

Redick stated that he will not make the mistake of pulling his starters again in that manner.

He emphasized that if reserve players are not ready to compete, he simply will not put them into the game.

His comments signaled an uncompromising standard for anyone taking the floor for Los Angeles.

Bronny logged just two minutes of action against the Raptors.

He finished the contest without scoring a single point.

His lone recorded statistic on the box score was that errant inbound turnover.

He posted a team-worst plus-minus rating of minus-11 in those two minutes.

BRONNY’S STRUGGLES IN YEAR THREE

The third-year guard has struggled to establish any consistent rhythm this season.

Bronny entered the league as the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

His early career unfolded under extraordinary public scrutiny alongside his father, LeBron James.

This season, however, marks a significant shift in his career dynamics.

LeBron is no longer on the Lakers roster.

The protection that came with sharing an NBA locker room with his father is now gone.

Bronny must now demonstrate that he belongs on an NBA roster entirely on his own merit.

Through the Lakers' first eight games, he has appeared in just four contests.

He has accumulated only 11 total minutes of playing time across those four appearances.

Bronny is currently averaging just 1.0 point per game on the season.

In a brief appearance against the Miami Heat, he scored two points on one made shot in roughly one minute.

Despite the Lakers starting the year with a strong 6-2 record, Bronny has yet to crack Redick's regular rotation.

KWAME BROWN UNLOADS ON LAKERS GUARD

The late-game disaster against Toronto ignited fierce backlash from outside observers.

Former No. 1 overall draft pick Kwame Brown delivered a blistering critique of the young guard.

Speaking on his YouTube show, Kwame Brown Bust Life, Brown went after Bronny’s continued roster presence.

Brown called the fourth-quarter collapse against Toronto the worst 90 seconds of basketball he had ever witnessed.

Brown addressed LeBron directly, questioning why Bronny was put into this professional environment.

He argued that Bronny did not need to go through the intense pressure and public scrutiny.

Brown then expanded his criticism to include the integrity of the league's roster spots.

Brown claimed that other hardworking players were being denied legitimate NBA opportunities.

He argued that a deserving prospect lost a job because of the James family name.