Heading into the 2015-16 NBA season, there was optimism for the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans. After suffering the worst win percentage in franchise history, the Lakers landed D’Angelo Russell to go along with the returns of Kobe Bryant and Julius Randle from injury.
With a 2-12 start, head coach Byron Scott has received a lot of criticism for how he has managed Russell’s minutes in fourth quarters. In addition, he has not considered reducing Kobe’s minutes or role despite his aging superstar struggling in his 20th season.
Before the Lakers took on the Portland Trail Blazers, Scott was asked how he is dealing with the negative reaction from the fan base during shootaround according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
“I block it out,” Scott said. “When you start listening to the fans, you’ll start sitting with them next. I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to fans.”
With Scott blocking out all the negative chatter, he shares why he does not listen to the opinions of fans, via Medina:
“They’re not at practice everyday. They don’t know the preparation and what goes into it. They just see the end product. They have no idea. They have all their opinions. But I don’t put a lot of stock into it. That’s why I don’t go on my Instagram.”
While the Lakers were not expected to make the playoffs, there were expectations Los Angeles would be competitive. With a nice blend of veterans to go along with their young core, fans were hoping their team would take the next step in the rebuilding process.
With 14 games in the books, Scott recently shared the team gets along, but they currently do not trust each other on the court. As nine of the next 10 games are on the road, Scott will have the difficult task of trying to bring the team together in hopes of playing a competitive brand of basketball.