The Official Byron Scott Coach Thread 2014-2015

I'm just afraid that Byron will fail to continue this style of play when Kobe returns to the lineup. Byron maybe is too loyal to Kobe, and that is detrimental to the progression of this team. Tonight, this team played free. All the guys were talking about how they felt "free" and how they were like "kids in a candy store." To me, this is VERY telling of how guys feel when Kobe plays out on the floor. We all see it, the ball doesn't move when Kobe is on the court. Most of the time he brings the ball up, waits for a screen, then shoots a difficult shot while NOT looking to pass. This is why he is shooting a s*** shooting percentage this year. Byron HAS to have a short leash on Kobe, easier said than done, but to help this team win more games, it HAS to happen. But I feel that Byron is TOO loyal to Kobe, and the ball movement will stop come Christmas day..unfortunately.

 

Hasn't Byron said that he would lower Kobe's minutes as soon as he signed up to be Lakers head coach? Look how that didn't change.

 

I think we are the only team in the league that gets negative press even when we win.

 

Initially, from my very limited understanding, Scott wanted to incorporate a defense that required long, athletic, younger defenders...it looked like what he wanted philosophically was to implement the Chicago defensive scheme that Thibs runs, and that's great. The problem is we didn't have the personnel; Scott adjusted to a more conservative style. Nevertheless, last night, is what I'm guessing what Scott wanted since the beginning of training camp, and in all honesty, at least for a game, it didn't look bad. We have to figure out a way to mesh Kobe and allow these guys to play their games...as J. Lin said a couple of nights ago; the Spurs game should be the blueprint.

 

I'm really encouraged by what I saw last night, honestly. I know we shot lights out, I know our team rallied around Kobe not being thing and they all felt more empowered to play their style of game, but it was entertaining, the team showed a real effort out there...damn, I want to see that more.

 

Wow. I am honestly shocked.

 

If Kobe needs another game of rest so be it. On another note have you guys noticed how our offense gets stagnant really quickly?

Either we don't execute properly or Byron is calling some poor a** plays. For example, on almost every possession the Warriors make at least 5 passes and set 2-3 OFF-BALL screens. In general they have a lot of motion mixed in with pick and rolls and some triangle.

We on the other hand start games off running plays in the first quarter - and then especially in the second half we resort to isolation-heavy, stagnant offense. Obviously with Kobe on the floor the problem is worse because the team thinks they can just get a Kobe bail out.

So are the players just backing away from the offense or is Byron calling the Elbows, Kobe mid-range iso's, and pick and rolls?

 

Yeah I was starting to wonder if some of this was a "Bit** Slap" upside his head for that Sacramento game. Approved of by the F.O. But no, just seems like they all determined Kobe really needs to recoup. And yeah, DUH, a big part of that is on Scott. That said, I found this in my rag Times this morning and it's a good look at how Byron went about the "conversation" with Kobe:



Byron Scott assured Kobe Bryant he had his best interests at heart
MIKE BRESNAHAN

"Before I even said, 'I would like for you to sit out a couple of games,' I had to always go back to, 'You know how much I love you, you know how much I care for you, you know I've always got your best interests at heart,'" the Lakers coach said Friday. "Then I had to hit him with, 'I think you need to sit down a couple of games.'"

Bryant sat out a third consecutive game Friday so he could rest. The Lakers lost to Dallas in a surprisingly close one, 102-98.

The initial talk with Bryant was the hardest, Scott implied. It came after Bryant missed 22 of 30 shots in a 108-101 loss to Sacramento.

"The thing that I was so happy about, the first time I brought it up to him, he just said, 'Coach, whatever you want to do, I'm with you 110%,'" Scott said. "And that made me feel good because I knew how competitive he is and for him to trust me like that, it just let me know that our relationship is as strong as it's ever been."

The Lakers (9-21) are fraught with foibles but the rapport between star player and coach is one of few things that doesn't need critiquing. Outside analysts are picking up on it too.


"I know that this is a process and it's going to take time and I have to be as patient as anybody. Obviously, the people that have to be the most patient is the Buss family," he said before referring to executives Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss.

"When I took the job and when I talked to Mitch and Jim, they said, 'This is going to be a process, it's going to take some time.' They asked me if I was OK with that. The question from me was, 'No, are you guys OK with that?'


"I always have that in the back of my mind, that this is going to be fine."

Ratings time

Basketball was in high demand on Christmas, including the Lakers without Bryant.

TNT's broadcast of Lakers-Bulls averaged 3.9 million total viewers, the largest audience ever for a Christmas prime-time game on cable. It was followed on TNT by the Golden State-Clippers game that drew an average of 3.1 million viewers. Both figures were supplied by TNT via Nielsen Media Research.

ABC said the ratings for its marquee game were up 19% from a year ago as an average audience of 9.3 million watched Miami beat Cleveland.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-lakers-fyi-20141227-story.html#navtype=outfit

 

Why, why would you waste those precious seconds? I don't get it.