Oh, good, Byron Scott is senselessly calling out his players again. After a brutal 118-78 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder – a loss in which Kobe Bryant did not play – Scott ripped into his team, saying they played scared.
Byron Scott: "Kobe's fearless. These guys looked like they were scared tonight."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 20, 2015
Byron said he told his players afterwards that their performance was "pathetic."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 20, 2015
Naturally, the Lakers didn’t take too kindly to their coach’s remarks.
Randle: "We didn’t have energy. We didn’t play with energy. We didn’t play as a team. But we definitely weren’t scared."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 20, 2015
D'Angelo always honest. "You try to make a run and sustain the run. There’s not much you can do when we’re trying to stay within the system"
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 20, 2015
This pretty much perfectly sums up the state of the Lakers right now. They’re coached by a man no player likes, whose philosophy is a maddening mix of ineptitude and stubbornness. He admonishes his players for shots that Bryant takes regularly, saying Bryant has earned the right to do so, somehow not realizing how idiotic that sounds. His managerial style seems to be one of admonishment, which is just great for a young, developing team.
Honestly, Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell should be given medals for their bravery and saint-like tolerance. It’s remarkable that they haven’t cracked yet under the pressure of Scott’s ridiculous, antiquated coaching style. Maybe they see the light at the end of the tunnel in the form of this summer, when it would be nothing less than apocalyptically shocking if the Lakers didn’t fire Scott.
