Los Angeles Lakers: Everybody Loves A Winner

The Los Angeles Lakers are finally winners. Even if that status was reeled in from simply holding on against a team that is undoubtedly not a winner in the 0-6 Brooklyn Nets.

Still, the Lakers found a way to stop themselves from enduring another early season free fall, finally grabbing their first win with their best defensive “effort” in five tries.

After Byron Scott enraged the entire fan base with his proclamation that “winning trumps player development” on a team with three starters under 23 years old, he found a sliver of validation in finally steering this team to a victory.

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To Scott’s credit, he made changes that certainly helped the Lakers perform better as a unit. Ryan Kelly’s lack of defense got him booted from the rotation, and Brandon Bass’s run as the backup center is apparently over. Metta World Peace and Tarik Black appeared to take over their roles respectively.

Next up, the Los Angeles Lakers (1-4) will take on the New York Knicks (2-4) at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Here are three more takeaways from the win in Brooklyn:

D’Angelo Russell Responds

D’Angelo Russell was the target of some thinly veiled comments from Byron Scott before the game against the Nets tipped. Scott implored the “young guys” on the Lakers to “play better” defensively or face the consequence of sitting on the bench.

Right or not for those comments, Scott was rewarded with Russell’s best performance as a professional.

The rookie made six of nine shots en route to 16 points, in addition to his three steals. He still isn’t a good defender – opposing point guard Jarrett Jack had 18 points and 12 assists – but solid performances like this on the offensive end should force Scott’s hand in regards to playing time.

Russell has a soft matchup against a backcourt of Jose Calderon and former Laker Sasha Vujacic when the team takes on the Knicks the next time out, so there is a great possibility he builds on his latest offensive performance.

Kobe Keeps Chucking

Kobe Bryant continues to see heavy minutes despite shooting a shade above 32 percent from the field. Friday’s game against the Nets was no different, as he played 31 minutes, resulting in him chucking up 16 shots for his 18 points.

As Kobe continues to serve as an anchor of the Los Angeles Lakers offense in the sense that he is dragging down it’s upside, it’s fair to wonder what steps will be taken if things fail to improve rather quickly. For as bad as the younger players have been defensively, Kobe has been nearly equally as atrocious as an offensive threat.

A bench role would suit the Black Mamba well, but clearly there is pride at stake here. Kobe certainly wouldn’t suggest something of that nature, nor take well to it, and Byron Scott may be the single biggest supporter of the deteriorating superstar left on planet earth.

There is hope that once Kobe gets his legs back, he can begin to get to his spots a bit better and raise his efficiency. Until then, there are going to be a lot more nights like this.

Byron Scott, Young Players, and Contradicting Comments

Challenging a coach from a blogger’s perspective is a bit difficult.

I am not a Lakers “insider”; I have never been to their practice facility. I’ve never spoken to Byron Scott, and he certainly doesn’t know nor care who I am. To insinuate that I know the inner workings of the Los Angeles Lakers’ organization would be foolish.

So, all I, and most bloggers in general, have to judge the Lakers’ staff off of is their comments and their actions; the things that are visible to everyone. Byron Scott’s comments about winning trumping player development were visible to everyone, and I don’t agree with them.

I like to think I understand the concept of what Byron is preaching: play well or don’t play. As a coach, his job is to win games, and to do so he is going to play the best players to give him a shot at that goal. A mere four or five games into a season is awful early to throw in the towel and simply hand out minutes to develop prospects.

Furthermore, I do like the fact that he isn’t going to hand the young players, even a highly touted rookie like D’Angelo Russell, anything. It’s tough to pick out a scenario where being handed something without working for it ends with massive success for anyone.

And, to be fair, Scott did demonstrate some awareness by acknowledging he needs to be patient with the younger players, given their lack of inexperience, per FOXSports.

My disdain for Scott’s comments is how they contradict his actions. He claims that the bench is a great place to learn not to make errors, which he is seeing again and again on the defensive end from the rookies.

He has a point in regards to D’Angelo Russell’s currently woeful defense. The Lakers have been shredded by each point guard they have faced this year, and it’s a huge reason for their overall poor defensive performances. But that logic doesn’t add up when applied elsewhere.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Week 2

We know by now that Ryan Kelly isn’t a plus-defender, though he found himself entrenched in the rotation for most of preseason and the first four tilts of the regular season. Kobe Bryant has been a poor defender for a while, especially given the injuries that have sapped him of his ability on that end. Further complicating things has been Kobe’s ineptitude on offense, but those continuous dreadful performances have gone on without a challenge.

If Byron Scott is prioritizing winning games over player development, perhaps more things need to be evaluated than the play of his 19-year-old rookie.

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