Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott has apparently waived the white flag already on making his team a defensive unit, believing there's nothing much he can do to fix the problem.
After another setback at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs to put the Lakers on a franchise worst 1-8 record, Scott's comment had a tad of pessimism for the first time this season, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.
"Most of the time the things that we want to do, they haven't done. I don't know if it's because they're incapable of doing it or not," Scott said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "If they can't, then we'll change and go to something else."
In spite Scott's goal of turning the team into a defensive powerhouse at training camp, the Lakers just don't have much defensive weapons to rely on.
Bryant, who is a 12-time All-Defensive Team member, isn't anymore the defensive beast that struck fear into the hearts of every player he guarded. After two major surgeries, the 36-year Bryant is already missing the same agility he had in previous seasons.
Tabbed as the Lakers' best perimeter defender, Wesley Johnson hasn't lived up to his full potential, while Jeremy Lin struggled locking down athletic, highly-physical guards. Interior defense has the same story with Ed Davis emerging as the team's best shot-blocker with 1.6 bpg. All in all, the Lakers are dead last in the NBA in points allowed per game at 109.4 ppg.
When asked the difference between coaching the rebuilding New Orleans Hornets and his current squad, Scott thinks the two teams have some similarities in some departments, only that the Lakers have Kobe Bryant to depend on down the stretch.
"There's some similarities, but we didn't have a No. 24," Scott said, referring to Bryant. "That's a big difference. We've got somebody that we can throw the ball to at the end of games if we can keep it close.
"But as far as trying to rebuild and everything, yeah, a lot of similarities as far as trying to put your handprint on them ... especially that defensive end of the floor."
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