The Los Angeles Lakers lost at home to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. This was just the eighth home loss all year for L.A., but the second time in the last eight days that they've fallen to Giannis and friends. The result was the least noteworthy part of this game though, as it gave way to much larger and more existential questions, not only for the Lakers but for the league itself.
JJ Redick didn't have many options at his disposal, as most of his rotation was in street clothes instead of on the court. His six leading scorers (nine if you count the traded-away D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis and Max Christie) were all nowhere to be found, which left him to take on the Greek Freak with his literal B team.
The minutes distribution was crazy. Jordan Goodwin, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James all played 30 minutes or more. Shake Milton and Cam Reddish played 23 and 22, respectively. Markieff Morris was even dusted off for just the third time this month, and he played a season-high 28.
Even though the Bucks were without Damian Lillard and the Lakers were at home, this was just never a game that they had a shot to win. Let's start there as we dive into the three things we learned.
JJ Redick isn't worried about the Lakers' playoff seed
Had this been a playoff game, the majority of players that sat out would have been able to play. Some, like LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, still need time to come back from their injuries. That left Redick with a choice: He could either put a shorthanded squad out there and overtax his remaining starters in an effort to chase a win, or he could give everyone a night off to rest up.
He chose the latter, which speaks volumes about his priorities as we approach the playoffs. The Western Conference playoff race couldn't be much closer, and there's a realistic chance that L.A. could finish anywhere from second to eighth. Rather than sell out to chase the best possible seed (likely at the expense of having a rested and ready squad for the postseason), Redick is prioritizing getting everyone as close to 100 percent as possible.
It's a very mature move for a first-year head coach to see the bigger picture like that, and yet another reason why Redick has proven to be such a great hire.
Bronny James is ahead of schedule
Bronny James has undoubtedly lived a privileged existence as the son of one of the greatest basketball players ever, but you have to feel for the kid because of the tidal wave of criticism he's received as he struggles to get his basketball career off the ground.
There's been a huge pushback against nepo babies these last few years, especially in Hollywood. It's also very easy to make people forget about the advantages you've grown up with, though. It's a two-step process: 1) Say the right things, and 2) prove that you belong based on your own merits. Bronny has nailed the first part from even before he was drafted, and last night he took a huge step toward establishing the second. He shot 7-of-10 from the field, and he tied Knecht for the team lead with 17 points.
To people that have been keeping tabs on Bronny's stats in the G League, last night shouldn't come as a huge shock. He's averaged over 20 points for the South Bay Lakers, but up until this game he hadn't done much of anything on the big stage.
By all accounts, Bronny seems to have a great head on his shoulders. Last night he looked confident and decisive on an NBA court for the first time. It's way too early to expect him to be a playoff contributor, but if he can soak up some minutes while his injured teammates rest up in the regular season, all while gaining valuable experience, that's a win-win.
Bronny has real potential, and it's important to remember that he's just a second-round pick. There are very few second-rounders that can score 17 points in a game under any circumstance in their rookie year. Hopefully this turns the pressure down on him going forward.
The NBA needs to shorten its schedule
The final lesson we learned wasn't about the Lakers at all. It's about the NBA, which desperately needs to make schedule reform an offseason priority. The fact that in the middle of a heated playoff race the Lakers chose to sit almost their entire team, and were probably right to do so, should tell Adam Silver all he needs to know.
Look around the league and you'll see the same issue everywhere else. The Oklahoma City Thunder sat their entire starting five last week. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have missed multiple games for unclear reasons. Like the Thunder, the Sixers are under investigation for violating the Player Participation Policy. That's only the tip of the iceberg.
There are simply too many games in the season, and before anyone jumps in to say that players back in the day used to play all the time, just stop. That's comparing apples to oranges. Today's athletes can run faster and jump higher than ever before, but all of that athleticism comes at the price of durability. They also have to go against more athletic players, which takes a bigger toll.
Mikal Bridges is the iron man of the NBA. He not only hasn't missed a game in over four years, he actually played 83 when he was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Brooklyn Nets two years ago. He leads the league in minutes per game, and even he recently complained about how much he's been playing.
The owners don't want to lose out on revenue, and I'm sure the players don't either. That would have to happen if the schedule was shortened. Everybody could still make a pretty great living if 10 or 15 games were cut though, and it would result in a much better product. That's priceless, especially to get rid of the negative publicity of having games like we saw last night when nobody plays.