Don't Blame Byron Scott for D'Angelo Russell's 4th-Quarter Minutes
With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a one-point game, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott subbed D’Angelo Russell in for Marcelo Huertas.
Such peripheral movement for any NBA team doesn't normally cause a stir when the calendar reads November, but the second overall pick’s crunch-time minutes, and how they relate to his individual development, have so far been L.A.'s most controversial storyline this season.
It's an organization that should focus on cultivating an environment in which its young prospects grow, learn and prosper, but from the outside looking in, the Lakers are doing the exact opposite.
Heading into Wednesday night's game against the Orlando Magic, Russell did not play a single second in three of L.A.’s seven fourth quarters. But the straw that (maybe?) broke the camel’s back came against the Miami Heat Tuesday, when Scott didn’t put Russell back in after removing him from a close game late in the third quarter.
In the eye of Laker Nation, it's a problem when the future of its franchise is on the bench instead of fighting through the type of mistakes any 19-year-old professional athlete needs to learn from.
Scott’s caught most of the blame because, well, he decides when players play. But it's far from his fault.
Player development is a tricky concept. Nothing is promised, and the line between progress and stagnation tends to blur over time. There’s no evidence one way or another that rookies have a higher success rate if in their first season they play a ton or sit and observe. There's no general rule of thumb, and each case must be judged with context.
Let's circle back to the final seven minutes of Wednesday’s game—which the Lakers lost when Nikola Vucevic drained a buzzer-beating turnaround over Roy Hibbert’s outstretched fingertips. Russell scored two points on three shots, grabbed two rebounds and failed to tally an assist.
It’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that his defense cost L.A. the game, but it certainly didn’t help. Here are two examples.
The first is an open corner three by Russell's man, Magic guard Shabazz Napier. As Elfrid Payton runs a side pick-and-roll with Tobias Harris, Napier cuts to the weak-side corner. Russell doesn't follow, instead sticking around the free-throw line. It's a curious move that burns the Lakers.
The rookie was again caught ball-watching just a few minutes later, when Napier sneaked baseline but missed an open layup that would've given the Magic a two-point lead.
Neither play is meant as an attack on Russell. These are learning experiences and would normally be treated as such, with no dissension involved. But Scott can only play the guys he trusts.
Now, for just one second, step into his shoes. You’re a basketball coach, which means you’re in a bottom-line business, employed by one of the most results-oriented organizations in sports. Losing is not an option, which means, when you’re coming off a 21-win season, a grand piano hangs overhead.
Forget about what happened to Mike Brown after his 1-4 start to the 2012-13 season or Mike D’Antoni’s disappointing two-year run overseeing a hobbled roster. The Lakers' impatience can instead be traced to the players their front office signed over the summer. Lou Williams, Roy Hibbert and Brandon Bass are productive veterans in the back half of their careers who can help a team win today.
The Lakers are not a team that should look to win today, but these are the players they signed, and the mandate is clear: Win!
So, you’re the coach. What would you do down the stretch? Play the teenager—who, by the way, is shooting 39.7 percent (including Wednesday’s 6-of-15 effort), is allergic to the paint and (understandably) holds minimal grasp of where he’s supposed to be in the Lakers’ defensive scheme? Or do you play the reigning Sixth Man of the Year? There’s no controversy from this perspective.
That doesn’t mean Russell should never experience late-game situations or that Scott’s rotation is flawless. It simply points out how impossible Scott's situation is. He can’t worry about the Lakers’ long-term health so much as the opponent staring him in the face each night. In this particular circumstance, most coaches would follow the same logic.
It’s very simple and very insane. It’s very Lakers.
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