Nick Young played just eight minutes, none after halftime, in the Lakers’ 99-87 loss to the Rockets last night.
In his shortest outing in two seasons with the Lakers, Young shot 0-for-2, grabbed three rebounds and committed two turnovers. The Lakers were outscored by eight points in those eight minutes.
So, Lakers coach Byron Scott benched Young.
Scott:
It looked to me, to be honest with you, that he didn’t want to be there. That’s how I looked at him. At halftime, we showed something on the tape where he was guarding Brewer in the corner. I asked him, ‘What were you thinking on this play?’ And the answer he gave me, I couldn’t figure it out. And so, I just felt like, with his body language, that he didn’t want to play tonight. So, I chose not to play him.
This might be the play Scott was referencing:
Young wanders (slowly) off Corey Brewer and into the paint, where Young stands aimlessly as his teammates play defense.
Scott said Young’s benching was a one-game thing, and that’s fair. No sense punishing Young further just to prove a point. He can help the Lakers in whatever their goal is (winning, tanking, drawing fans or a combination of), so get him back on the court and give him a chance to redeem himself.