Following their worst season since moving from Minneapolis, the Los Angeles Lakers enter the 2014-15 NBA season with a new head coach after Mike D’Antoni resigned in May. Leading the team will be former Laker Byron Scott who has been tasked with guiding the Lakers back to the winning ways.
By the time Scott was officially hired as head coach, the Lakers front office had already built a roster Scott would be coaching. Among the biggest moves were the team drafting Julius Randle, trading for Jeremy Lin, and claiming Carlos Boozer off amnesty waivers.
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Scott admitted the Clippers are the better team with title hopes, according to an interview conducted by A Martinez of 89.3 KPCC:
So technically, even you admit that they’re the top team in L.A.?
They’re the top team in L.A. They’re our championship contender team. And right now I think everybody in L.A. looks at us as a team in rebuilding. So I would have to say yeah, they’re the top team in L.A.
Bolstered by the arrival of Chris Paul, the Clippers have made the playoffs each of the past three years, but have failed to reach the Western Conference Finals. The franchise comes into the season with a renewed energy as former Microsoft CEO takes over as owner following Donald Sterling’s removal.
The Lakers stole the season opener against the Clippers last season, but were blown out the other three games. The two teams meet for the first time October 31.
Despite the recent histories of the two Los Angeles teams, Scott believes he can build the Lakers back into contenders in the near future while turning a few heads this season.
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