The Los Angeles Lakers were on a three-game winning streak, and Nick Young was jabbering in the background as Lakers coach Byron Scott had a conversation with assembled media on Monday. However, the joyous discussions about camaraderie and teamwork quickly gave way to the frustrations surrounding a 21-year-old who had only played 16 minutes in Monday night's 20-point victory, Julius Randle.
Scott singled out Randle, by name, after the game for failing to play defense and allowing a 38-point second half lead to dissipate to only 14 points in the fourth quarter. Randle's defense had hardly impressed in the fourth quarter, but clearly, the power forward did not appreciate his coach's comments.
"I don't think there was defense on the court at all in the fourth quarter, so to single me out--I think it was a team thing," Randle hardly sounded pleased on Monday.
Pressed on the topic, the no. 7 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft said, "I played 15 minutes yesterday. I was frustrated, 14-15 minutes. I was frustrated I wasn't on the court. Simple."
To be exact, Randle played 15:57, missed all four of his shots but managed to grab 12 rebounds and pass off three assists. Scott's reason for pulling Randle, along with the others, stemmed from a lack of focus on the defensive side of the ball.
Asked about Randle's attitude at Monday's practice, Scott said, "His attitude was just okay. Again, I'm not going to focus on that. We got a game tomorrow. I got to focus on that. Bottom line is, like I told him before, 'you got to grow up.'"
Scott confirmed that he did not feel the need to talk to Randle about getting pulled on Monday night. After all, Marcelo Huertas got the hook before Randle, and D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Bass and Nick Young all followed the 21-year-old on an embarrassing parade back to the bench for the conclusion of Monday's big win.
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"It wasn't just (Randle)," Scott reminded reporters on Monday. "He took it probably the worst, and he's going to have to learn from it. He's got to grow up—simple as that."
The coach made it clear that Randle would get another opportunity on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors and that the former Kentucky Wildcat had not disappointed in his performance during Monday's practice.
Is Randle possibly jealous of starting power forward Larry Nance Jr.'s success?
"I don't think so," Scott answered firmly. "One thing about Julius that I do know is that he wants this bad. He wants to perform. He wants to play well. Sometimes, you want that too bad. You got to relax and just let the game come to you."
Scott added, "But again, he's 21 years old. He's young. He's going to go through these types of things. As a coach, I'm going to let him go through it. I said my peace last night; now, I'm going to let him go through it."
Asked about what in particular he did not like about Randle's development, Scott offered, "I think the main thing I don't like is when you take him out of games, how he acts sometimes. But again, I chalk that up to being immature and being inexperienced at this level because it's going to happen again."
Scott laughed, "I'm going to take him out of other games that he's not going to like, but like I said, I don't worry about that. I got to focus on the game and the players that are in the game at that particular time."
