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Los Angeles Lakers: Byron Scott Talking Analytics, Minutes Caps? Really?

By Phil Watson

Mar 30, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott said something interesting to the Orange County Register this week, not just hinting but flat out declaring that Kobe Bryant would be on a minutes cap in 2015-16.

Bryant went into last season suggesting he play 32 minutes a game, but averaged 35.5 minutes a night through the first 27 games.

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He topped 40 minutes four times, rested eight of the next 16 games, and was lost for the season to a torn rotator cuff in the season’s 43rd game.

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“If this is his last year, I want him to go out standing,” Scott said. “I don’t want him to go out hurt.”

Scott overworked the aging superstar last season. But he acknowledges that and wants to make necessary changes this time around.

“I know Kobe’s a competitor and he’s going to play as many minutes as you want him to play,” Scott said. “I’m also a competitor, so I want to win and I know having him on the court gives me the best opportunity to win.”

Scott said there will be a hard cap on Bryant’s minutes this year and that he is committed to the plan. Player and coach will make the determination on whether and how often Bryant goes in back-to-back games.

“We’ve got to stick to the guns,” Scott said. “If we agree on a certain amount of time, we’re going to stick to it.”

Scott sounds like he’s buying in. Now it will be up to Bryant to do the same.

It’s been an offseason of change for Scott, who made many comments last season that flew in the face of the growing analytics wave in the NBA.

How much in the face of it?

He said he had “no use” for analytics. So, yeah, pretty much dead in the face of it.

This season, his stance has softened considerably.

“After sitting down with our guys and listening to them a little more and starting to really understand it, do I think it can help us? Absolutely. So are we going to lean a little more heavily on it? Absolutely.”

The Lakers have created an assistant coaching position for Clay Moser, who will serve as the conduit between the coaching staff and the team’s analytics department.

Losing 61 games while watching a team use the very style you said couldn’t win a championship go out and do just that seemed to work wonders on getting Scott to open his mind up to some new possibilities.

Of course, Scott isn’t acknowledging the Golden State Warriors won a title based on 3-point shooting.

“Golden State won a title because they were the better team and they were the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA, as well,” Scott said.

So, apparently, that whole “being the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA” thing was purely coincidental.

It’s an important season for Scott, who needs to show he can develop young players. The Lakers will be relying heavily on a pair of second-year guys, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson, and rookie D’Angelo Russell while balancing the farewell tour (we think) of Bryant.

His coaching career has been one of being a middle-of-the-road coach—he’s won some when he’s had some talent and hasn’t when he hasn’t.

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    • But nothing in his resume screams that he is a developmental coach aside from his work with the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (and the team’s return to New Orleans) with a young Chris Paul in the middle of the ‘00s.

    Scott wasn’t able to shepherd Kyrie Irving the same way when he had him with the Cleveland Cavaliers for his first two seasons and his New Jersey Nets teams only started to win after Jason Kidd arrived as a fully formed superstar.

    So the fact that he’s willing to bend on analytics and stick to a minutes cap for Bryant speaks to a veteran coach who understands he needs to change after 14 seasons in the lead chair.

    But the offseason is often a time for bold talk.

    It’s the bold action once the shots start flying for real in the regular season that sometimes doesn’t work in concert with that bold talk.

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