Byron Scott continues to be on the hot seat and this time it could be his own doing. Known better as a defensive coach, it seems that the former Los Angeles Lakers great has forgotten how defense works.
While it is a given that the young players may still be wet behind the ears as far as playing good D is concerned, there are, of course, remedies to such. He has been relying on veterans a lot lately, but the bad thing is that even these guys aren't known as defensive stoppers.
And the defensive problem has radiated all the way to the offensive side and mixing them all up, it seems that such is the recipe for disaster. Well, it has been showing since the Lakers continue to struggle, but Scott may have to admit and "man up" himself in the same way that he has been pointing fingers at his players, particularly the younger ones.
Tough as it may, Scott is aware that a lot of people are giving him the death stare at the rate that the team is losing games. While the struggling performance is somewhat expected, the fact is not many believed it would be this bad.
And against the Phoenix Suns, it was evident that there wasn't any semblance of defense. How can a team give up 40 points to a team that isn't that high caliber in a single quarter?
At the rate he is going, Scott could be relieved soon. He lacks the motivational talent that good coaches have and has so far failed to adjust the defensive matrix of the Lakers.
Having young or weak defending players is one thing but there are things that could be done such as helping defense or executing special defensive sets. Unfortunately, Scott has chosen to rely on single talent, who, as everyone knows by now, is not working.
How can Scott fix these things? Well, it all starts by admitting he is not manning up himself and then going back to the basics. The brand of basketball today is far from his time so he may want to realize that as well.
