Lakers Must Force Byron Scott to Play Tarik Black

During the Lakers loss to the Warriors one fact became painfully clear: Tarik Black should be playing every night.

The Los Angeles Lakers have kept one of their most dynamic players glued to the bench for almost the entire season. Among a myriad of poor decisions and blatant ineptitude, the Lakers coaching staff’s worst mistake may be refusing to play Tarik Black.

Tarik Black had an eye-opening rookie season last year, establishing himself as a high-energy player capable of powerful finishes both in the pick-and-roll and on the offensive glass. He also demonstrated an impressive motor on the defensive end, where he regularly disrupted the flow of the opposing team’s offense.

Inexplicably, the second-year big man has received almost no playing time on this year’s disastrous Laker team. One reason this move is so baffling is that Tarik Black is by far the Lakers best option of the roll man in the pick-and-roll, an area the other bigs on the Lakers have struggled mightily in. The Lakers chose to draft D’Angelo Russell, a point guard who thrives most in pick-and-roll sets, and have chosen to deny him the player on the team who could be his most effective partner.

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Decisions like this only serve as further proof of what most basketball fans and analysts are already well aware of: Byron Scott is completely incompetent as a head coach in the NBA. This was put on full display when he attempted to explain why he had chosen to give Black such little playing time thus far.

His answer centered around the fact that he apparently “really likes Brandon Bass.” Bass has been serviceable for the Lakers recently, but has struggled consistently playing the center, a position Black filled quite comfortably last season. Regardless, it’s unacceptable for Scott to be sacrificing the development of a promising young player for what he perceives to be a marginal improvement in production.

As usual, the facts don’t support Byron Scott’s position on this issue at all. In fact, from a numbers standpoint, Tarik Black is in many ways the best center on the Lakers roster. During Black’s time with the Lakers in his rookie season he averaged 7.2 points on 59 percent from the field while grabbing 6.3 rebounds per contest. While putting up those impressive numbers, he also consistently made plays like this:

The Lakers starting center this year, Roy Hibbert, has averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, sightly lower totals despite playing five more minutes per game. Where Black gains a real edge over Hibbert however is efficiency, as Hibbert is shooting 43 percent from the field, a full 16 percentage points lower than Black’s rookie numbers. Although Hibbert surpasses Black in rim protection, the youngster definitely has the edge on the offensive end.

Tarik Black also averaged more points and rebounds than the Lakers current backup center, Brandon Bass. Bass has averaged 5.8 points and four rebounds in his first season in Los Angeles, while putting up the exact same 0.8 blocks as Black averaged in his rookie campaign. Black’s efficiency also surpasses that of Bass, despite the latter shooting an efficient 57 percent this season.

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The fact that Black’s rookie season was comparable, and in many ways superior, to prime seasons of his colleagues, is extremely impressive. Numbers like this should excite fans and members of the organization alike for what his future could bring.

However, he may never reach that potential for the Lakers if he isn’t given playing time and experience now, which is something the organization must address. Not coincidentally, a similar situation arose last season with Jordan Clarkson, with management eventually forcing the coaching staff to play him more consistently.

While it isn’t surprising that the current coaching staff would mismanage their roster this poorly, it’s disappointing that others in the organization haven’t stepped in to remedy the situation. Byron Scott should no longer be allowed to force talented young players to wallow on the bench while he stubbornly sticks with the veteran players he shows favoritism towards. It’s time for the front office to take control of the situation and mandate that Tarik Black and the other young players on the roster, receive the playing time they need and deserve.