The Los Angeles Lakers finished with a 21-61 record last season and were one of the worst teams in the NBA. Through 11 games this year, it looks like they could be headed for similar results.
After a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns Monday night, head coach Byron Scott ripped his players and said they need to “man up.”
“Our guys gave an effort, but I thought their effort was 10 times better,” Scott said, per Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. “It’s all about manning up.”
L.A. turned the ball over 17 times in the 120-101 loss. After turning in their best defensive performance of the season Sunday night in holding the Detroit Pistons to 85 points, the Lakers looked like they were out of gas. But Scott doesn’t want to hear any complaining about playing two games in two nights.
“I keep hearing about this ‘back-to-back.’ That to me is a bunch of crap,” he said. “It really is. It’s basketball. You come ready to play.”
Of course, Kobe Bryant was unavailable because he played 36 minutes against Detroit. If you heard some of the things Kobe said after that game, you know why he was given the night off and probably won’t play back-to-back games at any point this year.
The Lakers are 2-9, and this is not the first time Scott has been vocal about how frustrated he is. It could be a very long season.
