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Links from the Forum: Losing Ain’t Easy

by


Happy Monday, everybody. Here are your best Lakers-centric reads from the week:

Lakers’ Schedule for the Week:

  • The good news is that the Lakers get three opportunities this week to end their losing streak. The bad news is those games will be against the Wolves on Tuesday, February 2nd (7:30 PM PST, TWCSN and NBATV), the Pelicans on Thursday, February 4th (6:30 PM, TWCSN, TNT) and he Spurs on Saturday, February 6th (5;30 PM, TWCSN). So yes, there’s a chance.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    The Lakers do not want to oust B Scott because a new coach may actually win games. Need to lock up that 2nd worst spot. #TeamTank

  2. KO says

    Not so sure. If team keeps getting booed at home and ratings keep tanking they could have contract issues with Time Warner and pending merge with with new cable company. May force their hand.

  4. Anonymous says

    There’s a lot of FA’s that I would pass on this summer. Here’s a look at my view of the top of Ziller’s list:

    1. KD – Love to have him but he’s not coming.
    2. Lebron: Wouldn’t say no but honestly he’s a controlling Diva. I’m not sure he wins another championship.
    3. Drummond: Love to have him but the Piston’s love him too (re’s restricted)
    4. DeMar: Please say yes
    5. Conley: No — good but wants to be paid as if he were great.
    6. Al Horford: No — too old and too expensive
    7. DH: No.
    8. Wade: No — too old and too expensive
    9. TD: No — too old
    10: Dirk: No — too old
    11: Batum: average player who will be way overpaid, this is the type of player that I fear Jim will sign 3 of.

  5. BigCitySid says

    – Pertaining to Scott, does anyone actually believe ANYTHING he’s doing hasn’t been greenlighted by ownership? Scott is a company man. He’s following strict orders.

    – I can easily see the young guys wondering how much respect ownership has for them, seeing they decided to throw a year of their careers away for this circus of a season complete with a mad ringmaster with questionable communication skills.

    – Expecting this joke to get even uglier in the 2nd half of the season.

  6. Anonymous says

    I would love TWC to sue the Lakers for failing to uphold their end of the deal. That would be awesome for Jim to take the stand and explain:

    1) why he paid such a steep price for Nash yet let his own free agents walk for nothing (Meeks, Hill, Davis, Bazerman, Kaman, Gasol and DH).
    2) how an injured Kobe was resigned in an effort to fool TWC into keeping the cash train rolling
    3) included TWC executives in FA pitches and told them to ‘wing it’ just like he always did.

    If TWC is still paying full freight then I’m sure their share holders are thinking of suing someone.

  8. Anonymous says

    Gary: Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the draft lottery to see if we keep our pick. Until then its wishful thinking. But, I’m starting to like Ingram (KD clone).

  9. Anonymous says

    Losing Ain’t Easy
    __

    At this rate we’re going to finish at 15 – 67. So we’ve got 26 more losses to endure.

    Yikes!

  10. Mid-Wilshire says

    Gary,

    Let me suggest that we wait until the ping pong balls stop bouncing. Otherwise we could set ourselves up for a major disappointment.

  12. KO says

    Don Mclean cleaned Bryons clock on 570 radio today and is first media guy to have the guts to tell the truth.

    Look it up its worth reading.

  13. Anonymous says

    Jim is going to get so much heat in the 2nd half if the year. Jeanie may be forced to do something In response.

    Not a good time in Lakerland.

  14. Marques says

    Yeah..Byron Scott sucks…that just hides the real issue.

    You draft a point guard number 2 and he only has 1 above average skill. Which is fine, except every team has a point guard that will blow past you or give you 40 every night.

    I don’t know where Russell will end up, but Westbrook, Curry, and the like aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

    So..do you start him against golden state and let his confidence be destroyed…probably…is that the only way to do it. No

    we get blown out so much, he should and has been better against backups…so I can’t fault Byron on this one, even though I would let him sink or swim.

    • KevTheBold says

      Here were go again. ~ sigh

      Marques resolving his frustrations by bashing the most innocent one, the kid.

  15. BigCitySid says

    -“My job is to help these guys develop, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do….” a quote from Byron Scott in Baxter Holmes latest article on the our Lakers:

    http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14693995/byron-scott-says-dangelo-russell-limited-pt-los-angeles-lakers-precautionary

    – “The Lakers have not only sunk to No. 30, but have lost 10 consecutive games for the first time since April 1994, when they were coached by a certain Magic Johnson.” from Marc Stein’s latest power ranking

    http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/year/2016/week/14

    – “Somebody has to be in control out there to kind of tell everybody what is going on.” Byron Scott on why the Lakers are having issues on the court.

    http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/42716/in-midst-of-10-game-skid-lakers-scott-reflects-on-coaching-26-game-losing-streak-in-cleveland

  16. Mr.G says

    I want to see Nance at 5 and Julius at 4.

    Kobe’s farewell is a fiasco. This season we’re gonna finish with 15 wins. But Kobe is in the media every time and TWC broadcasters is doing their jobs and continuos fawn own Kobe.

    Last time, against Hornets, we’re losing by 13 with Charlotte shooting 37% from the field and the TWC crew has told “that was funny to see Kobe playing”. This is embarrassing…

    Horry and Worthy comments about effort, energy is a walking abomination. C’mon, those guys know the game but them refuse to cooperate sincerely with the spectators.

    It’s not only Scott’s fault to conducting this inharmonious franchise as a whole. All the framework of the Lakers are ruining in front of our eyes and the only thing that we’re doing is criticize the HC and thinking of picks bla bla bla…But it’s cannot happen. It’s a lottery!!!

  17. matt says

    Espn 710 am kelvin and travis talking about byron scott mismanagement of d’angelo russell, scott is quoted, “I’m not gonna let him go out there and play 35 minutes a game and embarrass himself.” K&t why wouldn’t a team this bad be playing d’angelo.
    I said before, I’m starting to see loses as strategic, byron scotts interviews are also so complicated it seems fishy. On the other hand maybe he is protecting the rookie. This has to go up there as a top conspiracy theory.

  18. matt says

    Interesting mock draft link above. If the lakers keep their pick, and draft simmons do we all have the patience for the development of this squad. They gonna lose alot of games.

    Pg/sg russell…..30 minutes
    Pg/sg clarkson…..30 minutes
    Sf a.brown……15 minutes???
    Sf/pf simmons…..25 minutes????
    Pf nance jr…….20 minutes???
    Pf/c randle…….30 minutes???
    2016 2nd round pick……7 minutes

    That’s 7 players all who still need development. Don’t forget swaggy p, and lou williams. That makes 9.

    Now you gotta get free agents to fill the holes. Obviously a starting and backup center. Bring in a stretch 4 but the minutes are now limited at this spot. Maybe a veteran small forward who is willing to be a role player, or just go with swaggy p. Also another role playing guard, to go along with lou williams.

    Whatever the case if we keep the pick, maybe we keep byron scott, and therefore most likely tank again and keep the 2017 1st round (top 3 protected ) pick.

  19. matt says

    Malik newman at pick 32 would be a steal, why they gotta get us all anxious/excited. So there goes your other guard to go with, lou williams.

  20. matt says

    Sid thanks for link, clippers anouncers really ripped, byron scott, his defensive response is comical. Which is what kelvin and travis espn radio were talking about.
    And the other link about byron losing streak in Cleveland, wow the drama.

  21. KO says

    So today is a historic day in Sports.

    If Lakers lose.

    Bryon Scott will be the first coach in professional sport who holds the franchise record in consecutive losses for 2 teams.

    Cleveland 24
    Lakers 11

    Man deserves a statue.

    So fans have something to throw eggs at.

  22. david h says

    myles: losing comes easy; way too easy for the lakers this season. looking at the remainder of the laker’s schedule, it’s possible lakers lose all their remaining games. more than likely though, playoff bound teams will rest their players and lakers can stumble to a couple of wins as the regular season winds down while some teams may no longer have an interest in winning and horse jockey their way to a more favorable lottery position. not pleasant thoughts.

    on the bright side? we’re still breathing. with the exception of nance junior, young core remain healthy. must look past current situation and remain positive and focus to next season. lastly, pretend to look interested in this dismal season, such as it is and better than not breathing.

    Go lakers

  23. matt says

    Don maclean fired back at byron, “ive played for guys that have no business coaching and their record reflects just that”

  26. matt says

    Difference between lakers and knicks.

    lakers took a salary dump center for one year, knicks took robin lopez for multiple years. Knicks have a better center..

    lakers star is kobe who is coming off multiple injuries and retiring this year, definitely respected but not helping the team win, knicks star carmello just signed a five year deal and is playing like a star still….knicks have a better star/small forward

    Those guys help the teams young players develop, if we swapped them it would change the whole scenario..

  27. Anonymous says

    KO-Cable distribution agreements do not work in the way you think they work. Plus, if TW dropped the Lakers, ATT Uverse/Direct TV, Comcast, Charter, etc. would chomp at the bit to take over that agreement in a second. In fact, it would be even more lucrative for the Lakers.

    Even though this is the worst Laker season on record, overall the Lakers still bury the Clippers in the ratings.

  28. Marques says

    What I find interesting is that everybody rushes to the defense of Russell as if Clarkson and Nance aren’t on the same team, why is Byron not calling them out for effort?

    We watch a guy play lazy every night, next to guys who play hard, and somehow the coach is wrong? Whatever Byron is saying is not making Clarkson run slow, he plays horrible defense but he’s engaged and trying.

    What about Russell is so special he can’t be coached?

    • KevTheBold says

      Marques, you are exaggerating, and ignoring age and experience.

      You love to whip your whipping boy Russell, that’s obvious.

      The reason is also obvious.

      Give it a break huh?

      Your proclamations cannot be justified for a few seasons, so now it’s simply hot air.

  30. stats says

    @Marques – imho, the two guys we can’t call out for lack of effort is Nance and Randle. Surprised you included the former as needing to be called out as lazy. Clarkson, on the other hand, has regressed a bit on defense, but he’s not alone.

    @MrG – Agree. I’d love to see an experiment of Nance and Randle at 4 or 5. Like handing Russell the reigns, how could it possibly hurt? At worst, we’d find it doesn’t work. But add Black on that backline and you’ve got a lot of activity. Problem would be lack of range… but they could work on it.

  31. david h says

    whether we lose by one point or thirty points, a loss is a loss. in order to make the remainder of the season bearable to watch, coach Byron Scott needs to embrace the young core of the team. Coach Scott needs to get off his high horse, stay away from his dirty laundry mentality and just coach the team as though he has their best interests in mind. how do you do this? when you pull them from the game, talk to them, tell them what you see they are doing wrong. don’t just sit there; both the player and the coach look like their sulking. not good body language. let player sit after being spoken to, then re-insert them into the game. that interaction alone demonstrates the willingness to teach. and that’s what we’re looking forward to seeing the remainder of this season, baby steps for sure.

    that’s my two cents for the day.

    Go lakers.

  33. Fern says

    TW and the Lakers are married, it’s not like TW can drop the Lakers like a NBA team can waive a player, that is not going to happen, and another thing, even if this is a nightmare/worst case scenario season, the Lakers still have better ratings than the Clippers. Neither TW nor the Lakers are losing money here. I really like the TW broadcast, one of the best ones of the league. I don’t worry about ratings or none of that. When the Lakers turn it around a looooot of people will tune back in, only harcore/ glutton for punishment fans like us tune in to see a team lose night after night. But it’s apparent there are a lot of us that tune in…

  34. rr says

    – Pertaining to Scott, does anyone actually believe ANYTHING he’s doing hasn’t been greenlighted by ownership?
    —

    I think Scott is coaching how he wants to, and how he always has, and as discussed rather heatedly a couple of weeks ago, I think the general presumption is that Buss and Mitch don’t micromanage him, and since ownership right now is more or less Jeanie, I don’t think she deals with how Byron is running the team day-to-day at all. Management’s responsibilities here, for the most part, are the roster they put in place, hiring Byron, and sticking with him.

    Byron: Old-school tough-guy, not known for being sabermetrics-friendly, prefers veterans to young guys, always on the hot seat for lack of offensive creativity, loses big if he doesn’t have solid veteran talent, and sometimes alienates players with tough-guy call-outs. That was the guy they hired and that is the guy they got.

  35. Anonymous says

    KO-Any idea to where one can read or watch/hear a clip of the Don Mclean interview you mention?

  36. rr says

    My guess is that Scott calls out Russell because he thinks that Russell has the most talent of the young guys, is the key to the franchise’s future, etc., and Byron thinks he is toughening him up, etc. At a moment in NBA time when everybody is looking for another Steve Kerr, that is not going to go over well.

  38. KO says

    Anon yes I understand that. There are points in the contract( I have been told) that can decrease payments based on ratings which of course are directly related to advertiser rates. Similier to items I used to place into my clients contracts in the music business.

    My point has to do with pending merge of TW and a desire to improve the team and the rating therefore increasing the ask for 3p/60 second spots.

    Its a trickle down effect and current rating are down over 45%. Unless we are sitting in the negotiations with the new company there is no way to understand the short term or long term ramifications of declining ad dollars.

  39. Gary says

    Petros and Money are not real supporters of Jim/Mitch and Byron. In other words they are like a large number of us…

  40. BigCitySid says

    “That was the guy they hired and that is the guy they got.”

    Don’t disagree. This isn’t about micro-managing. This is about this years’ mission statement: “Kobe this, Kobe that, nothing else matters. If you’re willing to do it our way, the jobs yours.”