Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott wants more effort from his players as they try to bounce back from five straight defeats, saying that all players should assert themselves on the offensive end of the floor.
Scott said in an interview with ESPN Los Angeles that he is looking for a more balanced approach on offense, saying that his players should stop relying too much on Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, who only played in six games last season after suffering a knee injury, leads the team in scoring at 27.6 points per game, but the veteran is shooting guard is shooting just 40.2 percent from the field as he has already taken 122 shots this season.
"I think there was a timeout last game where I pointed at Kobe and I said, 'I know how great this guy is, but you guys have got to play basketball.' You can't look at him every single time and try to give him the ball. You've got to take shots that are there. You can't pass up shots," Scott said.
The first-year Lakers coach believes that veterans Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer should assert themselves on the offensive end of the floor, saying that both players should create more scoring opportunities rather than waiting for Bryant to score for the team.
"Well, I think use a lot of guys, Boozer and Jeremy Lin, to create opportunities," Scott said. "Which means running [the offense] through them a lot and moving me off the ball and getting picks off the ball, as opposed to me initiating the offense and then controlling everything from there."
"I think it has to be Jeremy and Boozer and those guys making plays, and we're setting picks off the ball. It keeps them involved," added Scott, who replaced Mike D'Antoni during the offseason.
In his first five games in Lakers uniform, Lin averaged 10.8 points to go along with 5.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds, but the 26-year-old point guard is taking just 7.4 shots a game. Boozer, on the other hand, posted 10.4 points in just 10 shot attempts per ball game.
The Lakers will look to score their first win of the season when they take on the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night at Staples Center.
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