The Los Angeles Lakers returned home to host the Houston Rockets and unfortunately, the losing trend continued. The Lakers suffered their eighth straight defeat, falling 99-87.
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One thing that stood out was Lakers sixth man Nick Young failing to score in only nine minutes and not taking the court in the entire second half. According to Lakers Nation’s Ryan Ward, Scott said Young looked like he didn’t want to be there:
Byron Scott on Nick Young: “It looked to me that he didn’t want to be here.”
— Ryan Ward (@Lakers_Examiner) January 26, 2015
Young has been in a bit of a slump recently. Though he is still averaging 14 points in the month of January, he is shooting only 32 percent in the new year, and only 30 percent from three-point range. Despite his offensive struggles, Young had remained a major part of the rotation until this game.
Scott had previously called on Young to do more on the court as far as rebounding and defense while his shot continued to struggle. Young had played well in recent outings and started contributing some rebounds and assists, but this was clearly his worst outing of the season.
With Kobe Bryant’s future unclear, the Lakers will further rely on Young’s scoring exploits to help the team remain afloat on the offensive end. While Young doesn’t always fill up the box score, his scoring ability is still one of the best on the team. If Young indeed wasn’t himself on this day, he will have to fix those issues to make sure he keeps his spot in the rotation in this time of need for the Lakers.
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