Byron Scott was quite angry following the Lakers 136-115 loss to the Warriors, their ninth of the season. Scott was angry at the defense tonight, especially upset at the bigs.
Byron Scott: "Patience is running thin." He said he's "close" to making lineup changes
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 17, 2014
Byron Scott on Lakers: "I can't sit there and watch players that aren't playing hard."
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) November 17, 2014
The Lakers clearly are more than lacking on the defensive side, and there are a lot of things wrong. The Lakers bigs may not be protecting the rim, but the Lakers guards aren’t stopping penetration either. And in the middle, too many opponents are getting wide open, uncontested looks, typically from three-point range.
However, the intriguing part is the lineup changes. Originally, Scott said it’d be ~15 games before any changes happen. With the Lakers having just picked up their 9th loss in 10 games, it seems like now is the time.
Scott’s comments did not sit well with Carlos Boozer though, who reiterated what many fans think about the Lakers defense.
I told Carlos Boozer that Byron faulted Lakers effort, particularly on bigs. Carlos:"It's not just the bigs."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 17, 2014
Jeremy Lin, on the other hand, didn’t call out just the defense, but cited a total lack of effort on the night.
Jeremy Lin says the following three things are wrong with the team right now: “Communication, trust and effort.” (via TWC) #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) November 17, 2014
Regardless of who or what you blame, the Lakers are clearly a broken team right now in search of an identity, namely on the defensive side. If they want any chance at battling for a playoff spot or even maintaining pride this season, big changes will have to come on that side of the ball.