Los Angeles Lakers' Post-D'Antoni Fortunes Depend on Defensive Renaissance
These aren't the same Los Angeles Lakers with whom Byron Scott began his playing career in 1983.
They aren't even the same Lakers who won a championship in 2010.
After replacing Mike D'Antoni as head coach this summer, Scott has immediately turned his attention to fixing a defense that gave up an unbelievable 109.2 points per contest last season and per Hollinger's team stats ranked just 28th in defensive efficiency.
"I just didn't think they had an identity," Scott recently explained to Southern California Public Radio KPCC's A. Martinez. "I know Mike D'Antoni's identity really is on the offensive end... But you have to have some type of system on the defensive end to at least slow people down and not allow them to just score at will as well. So I thought from a defensive standpoint is where it all kind of started."
So has Scott made any strides in his pursuit of a defensive renewal?
"Oh yeah," Scott told Martinez. "I've texted guys, I've had other guys that I've texted tell the guys that they're with, you know, 'Let him know that this is how it's going to be, and we're going to play defense every single night,' and the response has been good—has been great."
This isn't the first time a coach has said all the right things, though. Even D'Antoni channeled the D-word from time to time, especially when pressed on it.
Back in 2012, he grew agitated at a reporter's suggestion that the Lakers weren't spending enough time practicing defense.
"Hell, yeah, we worked for a half-hour on it," D'Antoni replied to a group of reporters at the time. "You're starting to piss me off. You're starting to piss me off because you're saying something that's not factually correct."
Any insinuations of defensive indifference were sure to strike a nerve with D'Antoni given his reputation as an offense-only mastermind.
As the team's struggles escalated a season later, D'Antoni was forced to address concerns head-on. In January of 2014, he told reporters, "We were just watching film, and we give up 15 to 20 points [against Miami] by guys not paying attention and not doing the things we talk about, and we're trying to get that right."
When probed as to whether the problems could be solved, D'Antoni added, "Yeah, if they want. There's nothing wrong with the defense [schematically]. It's what everybody does. Can we do it better? Yeah. Could we run back on defense? Yeah. Could we not turn the ball over? Yeah. Can we pay attention to your man? Yes. Can we not get backdoored? Yes."
The ex-coach wasn't exactly taking responsibility for the breakdowns, but maybe he had a point. Maybe L.A.'s deficiencies principally had to do with buy-in, culture and discipline—the kind of intangibles that practice alone can't inculcate.
To whatever extent that's the case, Coach Scott now faces an uphill battle that won't be won with X's and O's alone.
And while talking the talk is an important first step, it's not as if these Lakers were oblivious to their collective ineptitude on the defensive end. This is a team that gave up over 130 points five times in March alone.
Can Scott inspire a turnaround of sufficiently epic proportions?
Perhaps. But he can't do it alone.
In July, Scott spoke with ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne and pitched the importance of having players "police each other."
"You always need one of those type of guys," Scott explained. "In this situation, where it's just Kobe—who really understands what it means to be a Laker—and myself, who understands what it means to be a Laker—you've got two guys coming from two different perspectives but delivering the same message."
"That's important," Scott added. "That's important for Swaggy P and Wesley Johnson and Ryan Kelly, who need to understand what it means to put that purple and gold on."
Increased accountability may go a long way toward eliciting improved effort on both ends of the floor. This is ultimately a struggle for the hearts and minds of a roster that never seemed to give D'Antoni its all.
A coach can set the agenda in this instance, but Bryant's leadership will be equally—if not more—important to making concrete progress. When it comes to the psychology of success, there may be no better therapist than the 36-year-old icon.
"Kobe understands that," Scott continued. "It's special when you put that uniform on. You've got to play with that type of pride because you've got a lot of Lakers from the past that are looking at you and wanting you to uphold the Laker brand and the name, and the only way to do that is by winning."
On some level, hoping for a cultural renaissance may come as little consolation to fans who've watched that Lakers brand spiral into irrelevance.
But without an infusion of defense-minded personnel, in-house evolution may be the only alternative. Carlos Boozer isn't a rim protector. Jeremy Lin isn't a stopper. Rookie Julius Randle is just beginning to learn the NBA ropes. This summer's new additions aren't the answer to a deep-seated, collective crisis.
As CBSSports.com's Matt Moore sarcastically put it, "But hey, at last Scott has defensive stalwarts like Carlos Boozer, Nick Young and Ryan Kelly around to really lock down. We'll see what kind of magic Scott can pull off in L.A."
That magic will either come from within, or it won't come at all.
Defensive acuity is a largely mental variable. It requires focus, commitment and tireless physicality.
As Scott put it in August on The Dan Patrick Show (h/t the Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus), "I expect us to compete every night. [The Lakers are] going to play a tough, physical brand of basketball, and we're going to play defense."
Scott earned three championships with the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, an outfit characterized by up-tempo offense. But his coaching philosophy with the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers has consistently espoused a rigorous defensive ethic.
Hopefully that philosophy will actually take root in Los Angeles. It hasn't always.
As NBA.com's John Schuhmann notes, "The Cavs ranked in the bottom five in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) in each of Scott's three seasons. That's not just bad. It's unprecedented."
That said, Schuhmann concedes that "Scott didn't have much to work with," and that his stints with the Nets and Hornets yielded far better results.
Which results the Lakers produce will depend as much on Kobe and Co. as it does on Scott.
The defensive task before these Los Angeles Lakers is bigger than any one man.
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