The Los Angeles Lakers lost 101-94 to the New York Knicks on Thursday night, a team that up until Thursday night had just 12 wins. Head coach Byron Scott didn’t hold back from ripping his team post-game, mostly for lack of focus and selfishness.
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Scott lumped rookie Jordan Clarkson into the category of players that was thinking more about the offensive end than the defensive end and had this to say about Clarkson taking a small step back.
I thought JC (Jordan Clarkson) went backwards a little bit as far as trying to force things too much and didn’t do a good job of running the show. They sped him up and he just tried to do too many things. It was one of those games where he’s a young player and I think he probably fell into that trap as well of coming out and playing well, thinking about the offensive end of the floor more than the defensive end.”
In 28 minutes, the point guard finished with 11 points (4-12), four rebounds, two turnovers and just one assist in the Lakers loss. In the Lakers win over Detroit on Tuesday, Clarkson dished out a career-high eight assists. Before Thursday’s game, in his 20 games since being named a starter, he’d averaged a team-leading 14.2 points per game on 45.0% shooting, to go with 4.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.9 steals. In our video above, Clarkson talks about his disappointment with his performance and reacts to what Scott had to say about the team.
[divide]VIDEO: Byron Scott Says Jordan Clarkson Took A Step Back