After the 113-96 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott said he would make lineup changes 20 games into the season. When asked about Scott’s decision to make a change a quarter into the season, Kobe Bryant fully supported his coach.
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Before the Lakers took on the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, Scott revealed that Ed Davis and Ronnie Price will replace Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin in the starting lineup tonight via the Los Angeles Lakers Twitter account:
Ronnie Price and @eddavis32 will move into the starting lineup tonight alongside @kobebryant, Wesley Johnson and Jordan Hill.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 7, 2014
When asked why Boozer and Lin will go to the bench, Scott said Davis and Price have more of a defensive mentality via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
Byron Scott on starting Ronnie Price & Ed Davis over Jeremy Lin & Carlos Boozer: "Both of those guys have more of a defensive mentality"
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 7, 2014
Through 20 games of the season, Boozer struggled defensively and Lin struggled with consistency as he adjusted to playing alongside Kobe Bryant. With Davis and Price in the starting lineup, it should give the Lakers more balance on both ends and allow Lin to handle the ball more with the second unit.
With Scott hoping that this change will result in more wins for the Lakers moving forward, Davis will need to learn how to play aggressive without picking up fouls and Price will need to make his open shots from the perimeter.
[divide]Kobe Bryant And Jeremy Lin Have Differing Opinion On Playing Mad