Losing by 40 points is embarrassing any night but more embarrassing for an iconic team like the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers suffered quite a beating, a 118–78 rout at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC). The Lakers played without the retiring Kobe Bryant which meant the youngsters had to step up big time against the likes of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
With two Most Valuable Player (MVP) type of players to deal with, the Lakers were obviously sitting ducks. And while the 40-point devastation was pretty much demoralizing, head coach Byron Scott adds a bit more insult to injury by saying that his players were scared of Durant and Westbrook via Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
The statements made by Scott no longer come as a surprise. He has been under fire for his methods and believes that his players are not giving the proper effort for the Lakers to move on from the Kobe era.
Being a team made up of inexperienced young players, it was obvious from tip-off that the Lakers would be in for a long night. Bryant sat out the game due to an injured shoulder but even if he had played, his presence may have hardly mattered.
But the more pressing issue right now is whether Scott was right in publicly saying that his players were scared of the Thunder. Of course, it could be a way of firing up his troops but the three future players (Julius Randle, D' Angelo Russell, and Jordan Clarkson) came out to disagree with his observation.
Obviously the players are an inexperienced bunch and played bad basketball against the Thunder. But based on his comments, Scott seems to be more concerned about saving his neck from embarrassment and leaving the guys the laughing stock.
As it stands, Scott seems to be creating more turmoil than good for the Lakers. And on that note one has to ask, is this really the guy who management feels will lead the team back to a respectable position?
