The Los Angeles Lakers turned in one of their worst performances of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder and that did not sit well with head coach Byron Scott.
With Kobe Bryant sitting out, the Lakers were dominated from the start and ultimately fell by 40 points to one of the NBA’s top teams.
Afterwards, Scott called his team’s performance pathetic and said they looked scared according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:
Byron says this game was "pathetic." Thought the Lakers played scared in 40-point loss.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) December 20, 2015
Certainly losing to a team as talented as the Thunder is nothing to be ashamed of, but the manner in which the Lakers fell was certainly disturbing. Unlike the previous game against the Rockets in which the Lakers hung around before the Rockets pulled away, the Thunder led by 20 after one quarter and the outcome was never in doubt.
For a young team like the Lakers, losses are going to happen more often than not, but Scott at least expects the team to put up a fight and that didn’t happen for the most part in Oklahoma City. The Lakers got a good look at the level in which they need to get to in order to become a contender and they are far away.
Even in the loss, both Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell played solidly for the Lakers as Clarkson finished with 15 points while Russell added 12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. The question now will be when these young players will start translating their numbers into victories.