Changes were made heading into the matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night with Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer being demoted to the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers.
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The move was expected with head coach Byron Scott promising changes if the team continued to struggle. Lin and Boozer came off the bench for the first time against the Pelicans, but the results were the same with the Lakers getting blown out at home.
After practice on Monday, Scott spoke to the media and had this to say about the benching of the two veteran players, according to ESPN’s Arash Markazi:
Scott: "It's nothing personal. I like Carlos. I like Jeremy. From a basketball perspective I wasn't getting what I needed."
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) December 8, 2014
Boozer openly expressed his frustration over the benching to Coach Scott when told he would be playing with the second unit. The veteran forward also left the locker room last night without talking to the media.
In the loss to the Pelicans, the 33-year-old forward finished with 12 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. Lin didn’t fair any better in 20 minutes on the floor with four assists and three points.
Scott will likely stick with the same starting lineup moving forward. The Lakers coach did admit changes could be made in 10-15 games if the team doesn’t fair better with Lin and Boozer coming off the bench.
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