Lakers Coach Byron Scott Wants Julius Randle To Improve Conditioning

Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by Barnstable, Oct 8, 2014.

  1. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    "
    Lakers Coach Byron Scott wants Julius Randle to improve conditioning

    Julius Randle had a solid rookie debut Monday night, scoring 10 points with eight rebounds in the Lakers' 98-95 victory over the Denver Nuggets in their preseason opener.

    While Coach Byron Scott was happy with some of what Randle accomplished on the floor, he would like to see more from the rookie.

    "He's got to do a better job of setting screens," said Scott. "He's got to do a better job of getting up and down the floor. He does that in spurts.


    "The biggest thing with him right now is that he has to get in better shape. He's in good shape but he has to get in great shape."

    Scott has held a vigorous training camp, pushing his players to try to make the Lakers one of the best-conditioned teams in league.

    "When you're not in great shape and you get tired, you lose focus, it's that simple," said Scott. "It's just a matter of getting him in great shape."

    During the summer, the Lakers held Randle back slightly to make sure an old high school foot injury was fully healed.


    The rookie power forward felt comfortable in his first game, which he said was a lot easier than the last week at Lakers training camp.

    "Practice is way, way harder," Randle said.

    The Lakers had a light practice Tuesday, primarily watching film. Afterward, Randle and the team's young players (along with veteran Ronnie Price) walked through the team's offense.

    The team said Wesley Johnson, who had a minor left knee injury Monday, has improved and is expected to go through the full-contact practice scheduled Wednesday.

    The Lakers will host the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on Thursday night."

    http://www.latimes.com/sports/laker...ndle-improve-conditioning-20141007-story.html
     

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  2. ZenMaster

    ZenMaster - Lakers All Star -

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    If it were CL, I'd say "Oh, boy, brace yourselves".

    Here I'll just say - I didn't notice that JR was gassed. He carries his arms awkwardly, so sometimes it looks like he is tired.
     
  3. trodgers

    trodgers Administrator Staff Member

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    He's a little bit lazy, and I say that not to hate on him. He just is. There's a good bit of evidence for it already - he did look like he was gassed a bit in that preseason game, he slacked off in drills when I watched, and Kobe and Scott have both called him out for lack of conditioning or cheating in drills already.

    It's not the end of the world, he has plenty of time to get in shape, but I do see it as a minor issue. It's just another reason he won't play 30+ MPG as a rookie.
     
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  4. Agent Red

    Agent Red - Rookie -

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    Well of course! What should we expect from a 19 year old rookie.... Greatness? Pssssh..... Kid got a lot to learn and I hope he hits the wall harrrd. Thats why I love B. Scott and Kobe pushing this kid. Giving him that OG lost mentality!!!
     
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  5. karacha

    karacha Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah, Scott is absolutely right. Now, I can't say I expected 19-year old Randle to show up looking as an all-star right away... I'm sure he will work on his conditioning. But I like what I see right now. The talent is there, for sure.
     
  6. Coyote

    Coyote - Rookie -

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    Prior to the draft I watched plenty of video of Randle. I did feel like sometimes he would take plays off and it worried me a bit. Hope it was situational and not indicative of a bigger, more ingrained problem.

    Coyotl
     
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  7. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    I"m so glad we've got a coach that sees exactly what a bunch of us saw. That feels amazing. I remember the last two years tearing my hair out because we'd see so many problems with what either Brown or D'Antoni did and yet they didn't fix anything.

    Julius certainly looked gassed out there. It's to be expected for big guy who's only 19 years old. The laziness is a problem. I see a lot of the confidence that Kobe has/had in him, but I'm not sure I see the same drive. That's to be expected too, but I hope Scott and Kobe can push him a bit.
     
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  8. LaVarBallsDad

    LaVarBallsDad - Lakers Legend -

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    I don't think that's hating at all. It's the truth, but I'm curious Trodgers, how much the College Basketball season effected him? For instance, he played in a total of 40 games dating back to last November and he played all the way up until April of this year; he logged in a total of 1233 minutes this past college basketball season. During the tournament, he was playing an average of a little over 30 minutes per game. This wasn't including the workouts he had for teams nor the Summer Basketball League he played this year. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I think that has something to do with the tired legs...I think this will be a continuous problem this year, unfortunately.
     
  9. LTLakerFan

    LTLakerFan - Lakers Legend -

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    It's just a lot of hard gut wrenching work. Like you said.... Hell Week. Kobe came at 17 with that mind set. Thank god he is still here to show the kid in the flesh .... what the rewards are. The biggest of which will be the insane love from the fans at Staples when he comes into games and dominates at times this year as a rookie. Just have to hope he really does want to be GREAT.
     
  10. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    I think he does. It's unfair to expect anybody to be Kobe and that's been one of our major problems in finding "the next great Laker". Just because he's not on the scene with the strongest killer instinct in the League doesn't mean he isn't a gamer and a winner. We saw in the Summer League how willing and able he is to take over. In extremely limited sample size he's shown that he really can't be guarded one on one.

    Really all of the complaints that we have are 100% typical of 19 year old kid. The good news is that his ceiling after Summer League hasn't fallen at all. In his first ever action as a professional he put up nearly a double-double in 27 minutes of work. Not bad for a kid.

    It'll be fun to watch him develop. I hope he takes all these lessons to heart. It's really amazing he ends up here instead of being one of these other rookies ending up in a situation where they have little leadership and no help. Jabari Parker comes to mind.
     
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  11. Sipnotic

    Sipnotic - Rookie -

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    I'm not too surprised that conditioning is an issue. It is pretty typical of rookies, especially of frontline players. In college, they dominate easily due to lesser competition. In the NBA, it's more of a complete game where these guys come in and they're not as good relative to the competition, so they have to work harder...mover around more, be smart and beat guys to spots, get up and down to box out and so forth... Hence better conditioning becomes a necessity.

    I don't see it as an issue specifically for Randle. The guy seems to be disciplined and has the desire to be great. At least that's my impression of him for now. I expect him to work hard and meet Scott's standards.

    Now for Scott, this is very refreshing. He's keeping everyone in check and up to speed with clear expectations. That's something we haven't had since Phil. Very refreshing. Again, I'm not sold (hopeful but not sold) on Scott being a long term coaching solution, but for the next 2-3 years, I think he's ideal.
     
  12. TIME

    TIME Administrator Staff Member

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    Then he could not be in a better situation than being pushed by Byron & Kobe. If there is a drive for greatness in there to be unlocked, they have the key.
     
  13. Battle Tested20

    Battle Tested20 Moderator Staff Member

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    I agree with everyone of you and what you have said about Randle thus far. I'm just glad that most of us Lakers fan on this forum see him for what he is at this time instead of doing what I think most fan bases would do it put too much pressure and expectations on the kid right away. He isn't going to be like Kobe was in his early years of playing for the Lakers with that lazer like focus and dedication.

    I also thought @trodgers made a great point about Julius being a little lazy at times. I too saw bits and spurts of it in training camp as well.

    Just like trying winning a Rings, let's just enjoy the journey of watching Julius grow and take the good stuff with the bad. He's great a great family and head on his shoulders and the maturation process should be fun and will hopefully ease the pain of Kobe retiring when that time comes.
     
  14. lakerjones

    lakerjones Moderator Staff Member

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    ^^^ This. I love it. Totally agree. I am so happy that Scott is our coach instead of 'Antoni and Brown. Brown drove me insane but it was small potatoes compared to 'Antoni. Scott is the guy who can really get the best of young players, and I love that he and Kobe are on the same page together. I love the direction that Scott has taken so far. Most of all, it just MAKES sense whereas the last two coaches over and over made me scratch my head.
     
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  15. five6two

    five6two - Rookie -

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    He seemed sluggish and a bit lazy at times. Hopefully he continues to work himself into game shape. I would love to see him continue to develop his handles similar to Lamar Odom and adopt the physicality of Metta.
     
  16. LTLakerFan

    LTLakerFan - Lakers Legend -

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    Scratch my head and bang my head. God they were terrible. Brown the moron reading with head down from stat sheets after games addressing the media after having the best in Phil Jackson. Byron is proud, intelligent, well spoken and I would imagine will not suffer too many "fool" questions ......in dealing with the media. 'Antoni even worse in other ways with his horrible speaking skills.
     
  17. JLaker17

    JLaker17 - Lakers Starter -

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    Not only does he have to grow as a player, but he still ha a ways to go to mature as a person. 19 years old only.
     
  18. John3:16

    John3:16 Moderator Staff Member

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    I agree with coach, but my fear is he'll end up in the doghouse. Scott is old school and is tough on rookies (much like he was by the veteran Lakers when he was a rookie).

    With our talent level, we need Julius playing and learning on the court.
     
  19. LTLakerFan

    LTLakerFan - Lakers Legend -

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    See ^^^^ that's where I see the genius of all three.... Byron, Kobe, Nash ..... working together in ALL aspects, including motivation along with skills teaching to all the other players.

    Of course if Nash goes down then that third of the "genius" atmosphere for the other guys gets a big hit.
     
  20. abeer3

    abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

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    i just keep hoping this goes back to the foot injury situation. but slacking in drills can't be explained by that...

    anyway, we'll know for sure by the time the season's out. kobe will treat him like kwame if he's really a slacker.
     

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