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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers stands on the court during the second half of their preseason game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 06, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> fell back to Earth in a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors<\/a> on Tuesday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some will dismiss the 26-point loss as a throwaway game because it\u2019s still preseason, never mind the fact that Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves<\/a> and Walker Kessler<\/a> sat out. Reaves and Kessler have yet to suit up for the tune-up games.<\/p>\n A common theme so far this preseason has been judging the performances of Bronny James<\/a>, who was relatively strong in L.A.\u2019s 24-point win against the Sacramento Kings<\/a> to open the preseason Monday night. But last night was a different story for the 21-year-old guard. He had his fair share of struggles on both sides of the ball and was unable to take advantage of more opportunities with all the stars sidelined.<\/p>\n Bronny James Draws Harsh Assessment After Lakers Loss<\/p>\n \n In Monday\u2019s win, James did a little bit of everything. But that wasn\u2019t the case Tuesday. For one, the Lakers started the game poorly \u2014 much to JJ Redick\u2019s ire \u2014 which was the antithesis of what we watched from the Lakers in the first half of the first preseason game. James, meanwhile, showed one thing: playing point guard is not his forte, argues Lake Show Life\u2019s Tyler Watts<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Los Angeles Lakers got plenty of evidence that Bronny James is not a point guard in his preseason start against the rival Golden State Warriors,\u201d Watts wrote. \u201cHe struggled to run the offense and picked up most of his assists off LA getting the blender going. James didn\u2019t look like Luka or even TJ McConnell. He is not a point guard. The sooner the Lakers figure that out, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n While no one has ever mistook James as the next Magic<\/a> Johnson or John Stockton, he is expected to carry some of the ball-handling duties after Doncic, Reaves and Collin Sexton<\/a>. But Tuesday\u2019s game showed that the Lakers would be wise to give James a different role.<\/p>\n Of course, we can\u2019t jump to any conclusions after one bad game; James may come out the next game and rattle off a Chris Paul-esque assist-to-turnover ratio. But as Watts argues, the Lakers can\u2019t expect James to be a table-setter until he demonstrates the ability to smoothly run an offense.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n James Struggles in Tough Loss<\/p>\n It was the second night of a back-to-back, it was a preseason game, it was, it was, it was. Muster up all the (valid) excuses. But for players like James who are fighting for rotation minutes, there could be two games in one day \u2014 every opportunity matters a ton.<\/p>\n James\u2019 stronger suit has typically been his defense, but Tuesday wasn\u2019t particularly convincing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lakers opened the game with (Quentin) Grimes guarding Stephen Curry<\/a> and James on Podziemski,\u201d Watts wrote. \u201c(Brandin) Podz(iemski) had six points in the first five minutes on his way to a 16-point night. Coach Redick had to switch up the matchups because Podz was cooking Bronny. James showed defensive flashes in the preseason opener against the Sacramento Kings, but the issues returned against Golden State. He got caught ball-watching multiple times and struggled mightily defending on the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n On the other side of the ball, James contributed five assists, but he committed three turnovers. James finished the game with four points and one rebound while shooting 2-for-5 from the field and 0-for-2 from the 3-point line.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAdel Ahmad<\/a> Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. 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GettySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA \u2013 OCTOBER 06: Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles the ball during the first half of their preseason game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 06, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n