Lakers’ Byron Scott: Nick Young needs to put more work into ending shooting slump

"The Lakers’ Nick Young #0 drives to the hoop as the Magic’s Nikola Vucevic #9 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center Friday, January 9, 2015.  (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)"

“The Lakers’ Nick Young #0 drives to the hoop as the Magic’s Nikola Vucevic #9 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center Friday, January 9, 2015. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)”

The issues have become more pronounced with each shot that he attempts. It turns out that Lakers forward Nick Young has hardly lived up to his self-given nickname, “I.D.M.,” short for “I Don’t Miss.”

Instead, that has happened plenty of times. The Lakers’ 101-84 victory on Friday over the Orlando Magic at Staples Center featured Young posting nine points on only 2-of-13 shooting in 20 minutes. That marks a four-game stretch where Young has shot a combined 13-of-53 from the field. Young insisted that his recently sprained right knee that kept him out of Thursday’s practice feels “good.” But Young suggested he needed a different kind of medicine.

“I need some love. I need some good vibes to start shooting better,” Young told reporters. “I need ya’ll to hug me after this.”

But Lakers coach Byron Scott suggested that Scott needs something besides some encouragement. In fact, Scott provided some negative reinforcement.

“The one thing he should do is come in a little bit early and get shots up,” Scott said.

And has Young done that?

“I don’t know,” Scott said. “I haven’t seen that part. The extra work, I haven’t seen that part from him yet. Maybe this will help him.”

Lakers practices aren’t open to the media except for the last few minutes of each session. During those times, Young is often seen shooting foul shots or bantering with teammates. Yet, Young also reports to the game without being seen taking part in individual pre-game warmups.

“I’ve been in the gym getting shots up,” Young said. “It’s going to come. I’m not really too worried about it. I’m going to stick to my same routine, get some shots up early [Saturday]. Once I see a couple go in the hole, I’ll be all right.”

Young has often looked up to Kobe Bryant both as a child growing up in Los Angeles and now his teammate. But Young found no interest in imitating Bryant’s recent facilitating role in a quest both to conserve his energy and offset his career-low 37.5 percent from the field.

“I’m going to stick to doing what Swaggy P do. I’m going to continue to shoot,” Young said. “You go through moments like that through 82 games. Every night, it’s not going to fall for you. You just have to stay the course and stay focused.”

But Young and Scott clearly disagree on whether the Lakers’ charismatic reserve has the necessary focus to end his shooting drought.


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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