Divisions emerge amid Lakers’ 136-115 loss to Golden State

Lakers coach Byron Scott during their game against the Spurs at the Staples Center Friday, November 14, 2014(Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)"

Lakers coach Byron Scott during their game against the Spurs at the Staples Center Friday, November 14, 2014(Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)”

He came into this job determined he could stop the Lakers’ free fall toward mediocrity through a few tactics.

Lakers coach Byron Scott would constantly bring up his expectation to win an NBA title, his history as a three-time league champion during the Showtime Era linking the franchise’s glorious past into its uncertain future. Scott would harp on defense, devoting the majority of his practice time and conversations on revamping that area the Lakers lacked in recent seasons. Scott would lean on Kobe Bryant, confident he could both individually produce and jumpstart an offense after playing only six games last season amid injuries to his left Achilles tendon and left knee.

But as the Lakers showed in their 136-115 loss on Sunday to the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center, Scott’s expectations have hardly matched the reality.

The Lakers’ 1-9 record cemented their worst start in franchise history. They have stayed dead last in nearly defensive statistical category. Bryant’s season-high 44 points on 15-of-34 shooting represented a season-long trend where he has taken a large majority of the shots. The rest of the Lakers’ starting lineup took a combined 35 field-goal attempts, only one more than Bryant’s outlook. It featured Jeremy Lin going scoreless and taking only two shots. Lakers forwards Carlos Boozer and Wesley Johnson shot a combined 6-of-24 from the field.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have offered the first signs of a fractured team.

That all started when Scott devoted his press conference toward ripping his team’s defensive effort. Scott threatened he is “getting close” toward making lineup changes and altering his defensive schemes. Scott acknowledged “patience is running thin” and assigned heavy blame toward the Lakers’ front-court players for the team’s defensive lapses. He then said he will have “a very short leash” on his rotation when the Lakers play Tuesday in Atlanta.

“You either want to do it, can’t do it or won’t do it,” Scott said. “I got to assume that when I see guys jogging that you’re tired. If I assume that, I have to make changes. It’s that simple.”

The team division emerged even more in the locker room.

Everyone could agree on lamenting about Golden State featuring seven players that scored in double figures, including Stephen Curry (30 points), Marreese Speights (24 points), Klay Thompson (18 points), Andrew Bogut (15 points), Harrison Barnes (14 points), Andre Iguodala (10 points) and Draymond Green (10 points). Or that Golden State went 14-of-28 from three-point range. Or that the Warriors scored 54 points in the paint. Or that Golden State posted 30 points in transition.

But Lakers forward Carlos Boozer could hardly agree with Scott assigning heavy blame toward the frontcourt on the team’s defensive lapses.

“I don’t think it was just the bigs. I think it was everybody,” Boozer said. “The guards had a tough time guarding. We had a tough time helping the guards out. When we help the guards out, our bigs are wide open and our weakside defense isn’t there. That’s not just the bigs’ job. That’s everybody’s job.”

Boozer then expanded his commentary by providing an obvious critique on Bryant and  Lin, both of whom had the unenviable task in guarding Thompson and Curry.

“I also think that we have to take the onus of the challenge that is in front of us. If you’re guarding Steph Curry or Klay Thompson, take on that challenge,” Boozer said. “We have to do a better job of helping. But you can’t just rely on the help. You have to do your job too and we have to do our job too. It’s not just the bigs’ job. It’s everybody’s job.”

Boozer wasn’t finished. He then extended his criticism toward Bryant on his high-volume shooting, a new shift in feelings after the 12-year NBA veteran has mostly gushed this season about Bryant’s leadership and talent.

“We ran some sets, but we really just got the ball to Kobe and he was extremely aggressive,” Boozer said. “His focus was to score for us. We did. But the rest of us weren’t in a good rhythm. It was tough for us to get in a good rhythm. We got to figure out a way where we can all contribute on offense and help each other on defense. It’s tough man. A lot of times we run a set. But Kobe is extremely aggressive. We try to get it off the glass. But we have to find a balance between the two. It can’t be lopsided.”

So how do the Lakers fix such a huge mess during a three-game trip this week in Atlanta (Tuesday), Houston (Wednesday) and Dallas (Friday)?

“A win, that’s the key,” Boozer said. “It sounds so simple. But we have to win some games man. We have to figure out our game plan. We have to execute it. We have to do it together. It can’t be by ourselves. From our coaching staff to the players, we all have to do a better job.”

A walk over to Bryant’s locker showed even more divisions. It became comforting for the Lakers that Bryant said he only “needed a little rest” to overcome his viral infection and believes it will no longer linger. Bryant endorsed Scott’s openness about making lineup changes (“We’ll figure it out and do whatever is necessary”). Bryant defended Scott’s defensive scheme (“We’re not even giving ourselves a chance to play that type of defense. They’re shooting the ball within five seconds. We don’t have a chance to see if we’re capable of it”).

But what about the elephant in Bryant’s room? Is his high-volume shooting merely happening because the Lakers’ supporting cast hasn’t provided enough? Or is Bryant’s high usage rate contributing to the offensive dysfunction?

“I try to keep us in the game. I’d rather not have to do that, but you can’t sit back and watch a crime happen right in front of you,” Bryant said. “I’m not going to let the person walk five blocks with the purse and let it happen in front of me. At some point, you have to keep them in your sights.”

Bryant also said anyone who believes he prefers shooting at such a high volume is “freaking crazy” considering the 36-year-old insists he wants to reduce his work load. He suggested that his teammates should “just make plays.” But moments later, Bryant accepted blame.

“The responsibility is on me. When things go good, it’s us. When things go bad, it’s me. It’s my responsibility being in this seat,” Bryant said. “Guys are disappointed, but it gets to the point where you can’t make excuses. You can’t make excuses. You can’t look at everybody else and point the finger. You have to look at yourself first. Maybe I’m being too aggressive … It’s easy to look at everybody else. But I’ll look at myself and see if I can do things to keep guys involved and help them get better opportunities. Hopefully everybody is doing the same thing.”

Earlier, Scott conceded that Bryant’s high-volume shooting is “a double-edged sword and we have to find “a happy medium.” But Scott said “that’s the least of my worries.”

Instead, Scott narrowed his focus on defense.

He brought up how the Warriors opened the game with Curry throwing a lob to Bogut for an unguarded dunk. Scott pointed out Golden State’s first eight points all came on uncontested layups or dunks. Scott chalked all of this up to a lack of effort. Scott also revealed that he spent all of halftime going over defensive lapses only for the same mistakes to happen again.

That’s why Scott spoke in a blunt and annoyed tone, his anger emerging as he unintentionally slipped in an expletive as he bemoaned his team’s defense. Scott quickly apologized for his word choice, but he was hardly apologetic about the substance of his criticism.

Scott believes he has done everything to put his team in a position to succeed. He has often talked this season how he has spent lots of his practice time going over defensive concepts over and over so nothing becomes lost in translation.

Scott then shared a theory on the disconnect between how much emphasis he has put on defense toward the Lakers failing to execute.

“We have some guys right now because of the injuries that we have that feel they are entitled because they got to play,” Scott said. “We’re losing anyway so I don’t have to play you. I have more patience than anybody. But I can’t sit there and watch players that are not playing hard, period. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.”

The Lakers have plenty of injuries. Veteran guard Steve Nash will not play this season because of recurring back problems. Neither will rookie forward Julius Randle, who broke his right leg last month in the season opener. Lakers forward Ryan Kelly only played five minutes, 25 seconds against Golden State before suffering another strain on his right hamstring.

The only bright spot entails Nick Young possibly returning Tuesday after staying sidelined all season because of a surgically repaired right thumb. He will complement Bryant with additional scoring punch. Although Young is hardly known as an elite defender, his increased effort and overall enthusiasm last season could infuse the Lakers with energy.

“There’s nobody in this league that will feel sorry for you period. You either have to suck it up and start playing harder or sit there with us,” Scott said. “I hope everybody in the locker room hates losing. If they don’t, this is the wrong organization to be with.”

That’s because Scott remains determined to reform the Lakers back to their original image, even if the initial canvas hardly looks pretty.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com