The season just keeps getting worse for the Lakers. The latest: Lakers' head coach Byron Scott making the decision to bench Nick Young at halftime of the team's Sunday loss to the Rockets, later saying he did so because "It looked to me that he didn't want to be here."
Lakers bench Nick Young in loss to Rockets
Swaggy P’s swag was a no-show Sunday night.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Young played just eight minutes in the first half of the Lakers’ eventual 99-87 home loss -- which dropped them to 12-33, the fourth-worst record in the NBA -- before getting pulled. He missed on his only two attempts from the field, turned the ball over three times and went scoreless for the first time since he played for the Sixers.
After the game Scott was asked by reporters why Young only played eight minutes. Here, via ESPN, is how he answered.
“At halftime, we showed stuff on the tape where he was guarding [Houston swingman Corey] Brewer in the corner. I asked [Young], ‘What were you thinking on his play?’ The answer he gave me, I couldn’t figure it out. So I just felt with his body language that he didn’t want to play tonight, so I chose not to play him.”
Scott didn’t specify, but it can be assumed that the play he was talking about is this one, which took place with just under a minute left in the first quarter. Check out below where Young is as his man, Brewer, spots up in the right corner for a three-pointer.
Amazingly, Young’s positioning gets even worse as the possession goes on. When Brewer finally receives the ball, Young is, for some reason, standing underneath the basket.
Young also avoided the media after the game, which for him is news in itself. Hopefully, this is just a minor blip and not something that carries on the rest of the year. Everyone -- NBA fans and the Lakers, especially now that Kobe Bryant is out -- benefits from Swaggy P's swaggy existence.
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