Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott had a regular practice scheduled Friday, with plenty of running drills, but Scott gave his team a chance to lessen the practice load if anyone made a half court shot on their first try.
Ronnie Price, who recently underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow, hopped off the table and stepped up to the line with the ball in his left hand, and in the cylinder it went.
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As expected, Jeremy Lin did not participate in too much at practice, but said his back is feeling much better (back spasms). Lin expects he’ll feel “100%” for practice tomorrow and plans to play in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Rookie Jordan Clarkson has definitely been turning heads since being slotted into the Lakers starting lineup. Scott said Clarkson is definitely looking more confident on the floor. Scott even noticed Clarkson jawing back and forth with Jordan Hill during Thursday’s game, after Hill wasn’t up on a pick and let a layup fly by him. How is the team responding to Clarkson’s communication, even though he’s a rookie?
I think they take to it, sometimes they start yelling back, and he starts yelling back and I go, ‘That’s good,’ I kinda enjoy that,” Scott said at practice. “Guys are still interested in winning games, so I take that as a positive to be honest with you. One of the best things they can do is police each other.”
Scott also said he expects to change the starting lineup, though he doesn’t anticipate it will be before Sunday’s game. Scott wants to see “other combinations,” and give certain guys opportunities to play “big minutes,” so expect certain players to sit for 3-4 games at a time.
The Lakers will return to the practice floor on Saturday before taking on the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
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