Report Card Grades for Byron Scott's Job as Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach so Far
With the Los Angeles Lakers on track to lose even more games than last year, it seems an apt time to hand out some midterm grades for their latest head coach, Byron Scott.
The former Showtime shooting guard and one-time Coach of the Year (New Orleans Hornets, 2008) was welcomed back to Lakerland on a tide of nostalgia and good intentions—he would be the anti-Mike D’Antoni and bring a defensive mindset as well as a long relationship with aging superstar Kobe Bryant.
How has it all worked out so far? Bryant’s swan song tour has been a bumpy ride, but there are nights when he turns back the clock—like Thursday against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bryant had 19 points and a career-high 17 assists for one of his most complete games in recent history, despite the Lakers’ eventual 109-102 loss.
As for the Purple and Gold at large, their season has mostly become an audition for the future.
Managing the Prime Asset: D+
Scott’s wrongheaded choices began in training camp when he ran the entire roster into the ground, beginning with a willing Bryant who was eager to push the pedal to the metal after missing most of the prior season with a fractured knee.
Next came the pursuit and capture of Michael Jordan’s third-place spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, accompanied by weeks of being this season’s scoring leader. Scott acknowledged the need to save Bryant’s legs before the season even began, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (per InsideSoCal.com): “I have to be real smart that I stick to my guns as far as minutes are concerned even if it costs us a game or two.”
But the Mamba averaged 37 minutes per game through November and was playing 40-minute games as recently as mid-December. Not long after, his body went into a state of aching, tired rebellion. He has sat out six of the last 13 games in order to rest.
Scott recently offered up a slew of apologies, saying, per Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com: “I think I played him too much early...You have to move on from it, learn from your mistakes and go forward."
Bryant is now on a 32-minute-per-game management plan. And to Scott’s credit, he held fast to the limit against the Cavs Thursday night, playing the face of the franchise for 31.5 minutes, despite Cleveland building a lead while Bryant was on the bench.
And even so, a fading legend nearly pulled out a win.
Building a Team Culture: C+
The Lakers coach fares better with team chemistry building than he has with his franchise centerpiece, but that’s damning with faint praise. Scott isn’t a coach who is shy about calling his players on their lack of effort, and he follows through by sending slackers to the bench.
Yet, to some extent, his tough love has worked. Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin have accepted demotions with a minimum of complaining, and have shown an increased effort on the floor. Ed Davis and Ronnie Price have each stepped up their play since being inserted into the starting lineup, while Boozer has become a more aggressive rebounder, and Lin has found renewed confidence in his shooting and playmaking.
And while the team has steadily lost more games than it has won, it is often competing hard through the fourth quarter, with seven of its last 10 losses decided by single digits.
Executing X’s and O’s: D+
When Scott took over the coaching reins, he promised a system that would meld principles of the Princeton and triangle offenses, saying (per Lakers.com): “The Princeton offense, you have to know how to play the game of basketball. It’s like the triangle, a lot of similarities.”
Ball spacing, clean cuts and constant off-ball motion were supposed to encourage equal-opportunity scoring. Below is YouTube footage from the preseason, showing a team attempting to assimilate a system that could create open looks.
But as the regular season progressed, these basketball rudiments have often deteriorated into little more than back screens without the necessary ball movement. Even worse is Scott’s play-calling when it comes to crunch time, especially in an out-of-bounds situation. Too often, he has simply trusted isolation plays, resulting in low-percentage shots that fall short.
On the other end of the court, there has been an improvement on help defense and energy, although the stats don’t bear out the change yet—the Lakers still allow the second most points of any team in the league. And while an added effort has helped keep some contests close at the end, it’s all for naught without game-winners from the offense.
Developing Players: C+
Ten members of the Lakers roster are age 27 or younger, while four haven't hit 24 yet. There is still time to shape and improve these players for the future. Is Scott having any success with this all-important task?
The veteran coach has shown an ability to connect with young players in the past, including Chris Paul with the New Orleans Hornets and Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Also worth mentioning is Scott’s role during his final season as a shooting guard for the Lakers, mentoring a young Kobe Bryant.
But that’s all history. What about now?
When rookie Julius Randle went out for the season with a broken leg, it robbed Scott of one obvious developmental opportunity. He has had second-round pick Jordan Clarkson to work with, but Clarkson has only appeared in 19 of 38 games so far, averaging 4.7 points in 11.6 minutes per game.
On the other hand, Clarkson has started in five games for the Lakers Development League team, the D-Fenders, averaging 22.6 points and 7.8 assists. And, there’s certainly nothing wrong with development by delegation.
There has been a more immediate impact with Tarik Black, an undrafted rookie who was picked up off waivers from the Houston Rockets. Scott has handed the power forward solid minutes, and Black has responded with energy, effort and surprising poise off the bench.
Scott has also shown some interesting flexibility recently by inserting 6’11” Ryan Kelly in at the small forward position. Kelly, who showed promise as a stretch 4 rookie under Mike D’Antoni, has seen limited action this season due to hamstring issues. Since returning in January, however, he has been used in both of the forward slots, including some crucial fourth-quarter situations.
It wouldn’t take much to move the grading needle to a “B” for Scott in the development category.
The Big Picture: Incomplete
The season is not quite at the midway point yet, and the new head coach has had to deal with a lot of injuries as well as a roster largely made up of test cases. It’s hard to truly judge a team that is still in the early stages of a rebuild.
For now, Scott’s report card grades are in flux with much room for improvement.
He has vacillated with his star player and has too often demonstrated pedestrian offensive concepts. On the plus side, the team has shown more interest lately in help defense and switches, as well as better communication.
Ultimately, this is a team in transition, and Scott’s greatest contributions at this point could lie in growing players for the future.
Only time will tell if he can move from eking out a passing grade to succeeding on the level needed to return the Lakers to championship contention.
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