Lakers: 7 Things Byron Scott Is Doing Wrong

Nov 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) drives to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless (4) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

2. No Cohesive Approach On Offense

While we hear more about defense than offense when it comes to the Lakers, the truth is the team is not scoring enough points to win. They tallied over 100 points in three of their first four games this season, but have achieved that mark only once in the past nine contests.  While defense is important, the key to winning is to score more points than the opponent in the end.

Even the Golden State Warriors, with their vaunted defense, allow more than 100 points a night more often than one might think, it is just that they always score more than their opponent.

One reason for the lack of scoring is that there is absolutely no ball-movement. Every possession consists of bringing the ball into the front court, making a pass or maybe two, and the player who ends up with the ball in his hands goes one-on-one before throwing up a contested shot. In the Portland game, the visitors had 27 assists to the Lakers’ 17.

It’s a stark contrast to the way most opposing teams play offense, where the ball whips around the perimeter until it finds an open man or a guard attacks the rim and kicks to an open player on the perimeter for an uncontested outside shot. This is how Portland played, and they ended up shooting 49 percent to the Lakers’ 36 percent.

The coaching staff must accept a big share of the responsibility for the fact that there are few (or no) set plays, and the fact that there is no ball movement. Presumably the players will listen to what the coaches are teaching, so one can only conclude that this coaching staff does not know how modern basketball is played on the offensive end of the court.

Next: No. 3 Brandon Bass at the Five