Problems are running deep for the 1-5 Los Angeles Lakers. But sagacious head coach Byron Scott thinks that he has identified the one central issue.
In advance of Tuesday’s game against the Miami Heat, Scott, per Ethan J. Skolnick of the Miami Herald, articulated what he believes to be the Lakers’ biggest concern: that 37-year-old Kobe Bryant and 35-year-old Metta World Peace are the team’s best defenders.
Byron Scott: "Our problem is our two oldest guys guard guys the best." Talking about MWP & Kobe
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) November 10, 2015
I may feel inclined to agree with Scott on the World Peace Theorem at least in terms of intensity, as the former Defensive Player of the Year has rewritten the meaning of defending multiple positions for the Lakers this season, literally looking like he wants to defend everyone on the court at once.
But as for Kobe? Yeah, a 112.3 defensive rating for Bryant on the year wouldn’t seem to support that hypothesis now, would it? Not to mention that the now lead-footed Mamba hasn’t passed the eye test on the defensive end in many years now.
For what it’s worth, the Lakers rank 29th in defensive efficiency on the season, only above the injury-ravaged New Orleans Pelicans. With these comments, maybe Scott was trying to prod his young guns to amp up their effort on defense. Or it could be that Scott simply forgot about a guy he’s got starting at center named Roy Hibbert who’s pretty decent on that end of the floor. But it seems like as the days go by, the 54-year-old coach keeps finding new and creative ways to insert his foot into his mouth. After all, it wouldn’t be the first thing Scott was wrong about this season.
If Scott wants to take a peep at the real damning issue plaguing the Lakers right now, perhaps he should look no further than a mirror.
H/T NBA Reddit
*Stats courtesy of ESPN*
