Byron Scott The NBA is full of talent, personality and suspense. During the offseason, It’s easy to forget how wonderful the league can be. So, I’ve assembled 67 Reasons I’m Excited For Next Season (67RIEFNS). They’ll be presented in no particular order.
Byron Scott has some interesting ideas about how to coach the Lakers.
He plans to give Kobe Bryant an unprecedented amount of playing time and, in turn, expects nearly unprecedented scoring from the aging and recently injured star.
But that’s Kobe, and the Lakers don’t have many other options. Making seemingly ridiculous coaching decisions based on Kobe might just be Scott’s best option.
Scott’s philosophy on 3-pointers, though? That’s something else entirely.
The coach has said he wants the Lakers shooting 10-15 3-pointers per game, a mark unseen by any team in recent years. Other teams around the league have learned 3-pointers are often high-efficiency shots in themselves, and they also space the court to make inside looks easier.
But that’s apparently not how Scott sees it.
He – maybe following a cue from Magic Johnson, who endorsed Scott for the job – has designed an offense that doesn’t feature many 3-point attempts. In that sense, it’s working so far.
Last season, an NBA team made no 3-pointers in a game only once (Grizzlies). The Lakers did it twice in just eight preseason games, and they had another exhibition with only one 3-pointer.
It’s not a lack of accuracy – though it’s partially that – as much as a lack of trying.
In one of those games, the Lakers shot 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. It’s been a couple years since any team attempted so few 3s in a regular-season game (Jazz in 2012).
All in all, the Lakers averaged 10.3 3-point attempts per game and made 30.4 percent of them during the preseason. No team in the last seven years has shot so few 3s per game, and only the 2011-12 Bobcats – who had the worst record in NBA history, 7-59 – shot a lower 3-point percentage in the last 11 years.
The accuracy should improve. Teams generally shoot better as the season progresses, and the Lakers have a few decent outside shooters.
And I expect the attempts per game to rise, too – at least a little. I think/hope Scott was just making a point during the preseason about the importance of getting to the rim, and that is important. In their last preseason game, they attempted 15 3-pointers. That could reasonably be seen as Scott gearing up for his real strategy when it counts.
Still, Scott continues preaching a style unlike anything anyone runs anymore. There’s something to be said about going against the grain, getting quality shots inside while everyone is focused too much on 3-pointers. Maybe this will work out for him and the Lakers
I really don’t think it will, but we’ll get an innovative (by being old-fashioned) offense or a spectacular display of stubbornness. I’m cool with either.
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- nickjackalson - Oct 26, 2014 at 1:17 PM
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the Lakers will crash and burn
Kobe will get all the shots he´s ever wanted
Boozer will cheat someone into paying him silly-money once againActually I´d like the Lakers if Lin, Henry, Hill, Kelly and Davis would get more pt than they probably will, Randle looks like keeper, Johnson is the teams best wing defender
now if Scott would have the chops to make it work..but he bowed out to Kobe and it´s only the preseasoncrash and burn
as in not making the playoffs, not drafting high..
they´ll simply waste another year
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- teabone413 - Oct 26, 2014 at 1:52 PM
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I just don’t understand the point of comments like this. this is some hard kobe hating. kobe can be a ________ sometimes but…. to hate someone this much is lame. go cheerlead your team and just skip over these articles.
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- youngosays - Oct 26, 2014 at 2:34 PM
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“paying time”??
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- imakcds - Oct 26, 2014 at 5:40 PM
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yeh, the article is about the evolution of the game of basketball, positively or not, yet folks come here with an agenda and ignore the article. Why is that?
and it seems that Coach Scott is being attacked by the author for having a different philosophy, one that doesn’t just go along with the crowd, doesn’t follow ‘trends’.
I’m a dinosaur too: Protect the rim, run when it’s available, otherwise control pace. Attack the rim. Boards Boards Boards. The 3 is a great weapon, but an unreliable one.
the most devastating 3’s come in transition: control pace, take that out as a factor.
and a coach has to take advantage of his players’ strengths, and protect their weaknesses.
all out belief in the 3’s has greatly contributed to the Pussification of the game, not to mention the decline in Fundamentals.
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- spursareold - Oct 27, 2014 at 9:59 AM
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Attack the rim? The three pointer opens that up WIDE. I saw a stat recently that you have to defend 30% more floor area for a team that shoots 38% or better from beyond the arc than for a team that shoots under 35%.
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- 22yearsagotoday - Oct 26, 2014 at 9:34 PM
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It’s the west coast: what do you expect?
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- yahmule - Oct 26, 2014 at 10:55 PM
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This guy used to disappear in big games for the Lakers. He made a couple three pointers late in his career with Indiana and suddenly people were hailing him as some kind of clutch player. Made me sick.
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- cpcheung - Oct 26, 2014 at 11:16 PM
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Lakers are catching up fast! Lakers’ game is no longer boring like last year! Team chemistry is forming and getting strong!
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- danfrommv - Oct 27, 2014 at 1:09 PM
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Let’s revisit this in January. If the Lakers are winning more than 35% of their games, you may be right.
