Byron Scott’s ‘Man Up’ Philosophy Is Not the Answer for Los Angeles Lakers

If you buy what Byron Scott tried to sell after the now 2-9 Los Angeles Lakers were shredded by the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, then you believe effort, energy and toughness were the real reasons they failed to stay competitive through another 48-minute basketball game.

Lakers coach Byron Scott again said his players need to "man up" after another blowout loss.

— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) November 17, 2015 Scott: "I keep hearing about this ‘back-to-back.’ That to me is a bunch of crap. It really is. It’s basketball. You come ready to play."

— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) November 17, 2015 A sliver of this can be considered fair. The Lakers are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, don’t hustle back on defense and play with a general passivity often spotted in people who wish they were doing something else. But it’s not the first time Scott has reached into the bag of banal coach speak to rationalize his team’s atrocious play, and it won’t be the last. 

Blasting players through the media on multiple occasions before Thanksgiving isn’t the key to success. It particularly rings hollow when questionable effort is hardly the primary reason Los Angeles keeps getting demolished. 

So aside from an eye roll or shoulder shrug, how should all this be received? Utter disregard is an option, but unfortunately, Scott’s obsolete truisms extend to the court, where Los Angeles is once again struggling to balance modern strategy with antiquated ideology.

Here’s a closer look at just how damaging Scott’s imprint has been on this young Lakers team and how outside factors may have seeped their way into their nightly game plan.



The mandatory disclaimer: Not everything bad in Laker Land is Scott’s fault. The roster lacks talent and balance, and a hazy long-term outlook creat...