Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott has received tremendous criticisms from purple-and-gold fans after his questionable benching of Jeremy Lin in the fourth quarter of Friday's 120-119 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center.
Scott have only finished his first month as the Lakers head coach, but there are already some who are already questioning whether the former Showtime player is really the coach that will lead the franchise back to the promise land.
Doubts about Scott's credibility as a tactician is starting to surface following his brow-raising decision to bench his starting point guard for 9 minutes in the fourth period, including the last four minutes of the game.
Lin was torching the Timberwolves defense through the first three quarters, as he easily found scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. He finished the game with his second double-double season with 18 points and 11 assists, before Scott surprisingly took him out of the game and stuck with backup playmaker Ronnie Price down the stretch.
With Lin on the sidelines, the Lakers' offense began to become stagnant and predictable for their opponents as they looked for Kobe Bryant in almost every ball possession. Although Bryant nearly won the game with a three-pointer, the Lakers fell short again, no thanks to another 'boneheaded' decision by Scott.
Sports Blog writer Andrew Au gave a perfect description on the way Scott handled the situation last Friday.
"When you have your team's second best player and best play maker and facilitator on the bench for 9 minutes in the fourth quarter, your team will probably lose the game," the Basketball Blog analyst claimed in his latest piece.
"That's exactly what happened Friday night against the Timberwolves where Jeremy Lin has his butt on the bench for most of the fourth quarter, where he should of been on the court making plays and giving the Lakers a facilitator they desperately need."
Lin, who is averaging at least 12 points and 5 assists per game this season, has been through a lot of hardships after just 15 games into his Lakers career.
His relationship with Bryant hasn't been harmonious as expected and his freedom as a playmaker is limited due to Scott's go-to-Bryant dominated offensive sets. But like James Harden said about his former teammate, Lin has handled all of these things like a warrior.
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