Bryon Scott won't return to coach Lakers

POSTED: Apr 25, 2016 12:33 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Byron Scott will not return to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced Sunday night.

Scott coached the Lakers for the two worst seasons in the 16-time NBA champion franchise's history, going 38-126.

The Lakers are making a clean break from the Kobe Bryant era by firing the coach who shepherded the superstar guard's farewell season, but couldn't coax many wins out of an otherwise dismal roster. Los Angeles finished with the NBA's second-worst record this season at 17-65, losing four more games than in its previous franchise-worst season in 2014-15.

Scott received praise from general manager Mitch Kupchak last week for his handling of the final months for Bryant, who was Scott's teammate during his rookie season with the Lakers 20 years ago. Bryant scored 60 points in his final game April 13, a win over Utah.

But the Lakers struggled to play competent defense or to put together coherent game plans over the past two seasons with a roster of youngsters and unimpressive veterans.

Scott also didn't seem to connect with the Lakers' young players. His old-school mentality generated little positive effect in Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson or D'Angelo Russell, the second overall pick whose playing time was curiously limited by Scott early in the season.

Although the Lakers acknowledged that Bryant's seasonlong showcase took precedence over winning this season, Kupchak and owner Jim Buss still apparently expected more than Scott provided.

Scott had two seasons with team options left on his contract.

The Lakers are now looking for their fifth head coach since Phil Jackson left in 2011. Mike Brown and Mike D'Antoni were fired before Scott, with interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff also getting a short run.

Scott is a veteran head coach with previous tenures at New Jersey, New Orleans and Cleveland. He led the Nets to two NBA Finals in his first head job, and he won the NBA's Coach of the Year award with the Hornets in 2008.

Yahoo Sports first reported Scott's firing.

The Lakers waited to fire Scott while two top candidates for head coaching positions took other jobs. Tom Thibodeau landed in Minnesota, and Scott Brooks was hired by Washington.

Lakers fans have been intrigued for months by the prospect of hiring Luke Walton, the championship-winning Lakers forward who is an assistant coach on Steve Kerr's staff at Golden State. The 36-year-old Walton, who played nine seasons in Los Angeles, coached Golden State to a 39-4 start to the season while Kerr was sidelined by a back injury.

The Lakers' new coach will inherit a young, patchwork roster with a core of intriguing talent. Russell, Randle and Clarkson are all solid players, and the Lakers will keep their high draft pick if they finish in the top three of the NBA draft lottery next month.

The Lakers also will have more than $40 million in salary cap room to offer free agents, and Scott's absence could help there as well.

The once-glamorous franchise has been incredibly unsuccessful in attracting or keeping marquee free agents over the past four seasons, even losing Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol to other teams for relatively modest contracts. But the departures of Bryant and Scott with the installation of a credible head coach could prove more enticing to stars interested in the added benefits of playing in the Hollywood spotlight.

Fouls and Violations

FOULS

Recommended Resources for Youth Coaches

• Coaching Youth Basketball Successfully
• 60+ Youth Basketball Drills
• Simple Offense for Youth Basketball

Personal fouls: Personal fouls include any type of illegal physical contact.

• Hitting
• Pushing
• Slapping
• Holding
• Illegal pick/screen -- when an offensive player is moving. When an offensive player sticks out a limb and makes physical contact with a defender in an attempt to block the path of the defender.

Personal foul penalties: If a player is shooting while a being fouled, then he gets two free throws if his shot doesn't go in, but only one free throw if his shot does go in.

• Three free throws are awarded if the player is fouled while shooting for a three-point goal and they miss their shot. If a player is fouled while shooting a three-point shot and makes it anyway, he is awarded one free throw. Thus, he could score four points on the play.
  
  
• Inbounds. If fouled while not shooting, the ball is given to the team the foul was committed upon. They get the ball at the nearest side or baseline, out of bounds, and have 5 seconds to pass the ball onto the court.
  
  
• One & one. If the team committing the foul has seven or more fouls in the game, then the player who was fouled is awarded one free throw. If he makes his first shot, then he is awarded another free throw.
  
  
• Ten or more fouls. If the team committing the foul has ten or more fouls, then the fouled player receives two free throws.
  
  

Charging. An offensive foul that is committed when a player pushes or runs over a defensive player. The ball is given to the team that the foul was committed upon.

Blocking. Blocking is illegal personal contact resulting from a defender not establishing position in time to prevent an opponent's drive to the basket.

Flagrant foul. Violent contact with an opponent. This includes hitting, kicking, and punching. This type of foul results in free throws plus the offense retaining possession of the ball after the free throws.

Intentional foul. When a player makes physical contact with another player with no reasonable effort to steal the ball. It is a judgment call for the officials.

Technical foul. Technical foul. A player or a coach can commit this type of foul. It does not involve player contact or the ball but is instead about the 'manners' of the game. Foul language, obscenity, obscene gestures, and even arguing can be considered a technical foul, as can technical details regarding filling in the scorebook improperly or dunking during warm-ups.


VIOLATIONS

Walking/Traveling. Taking more than 'a step and a half' without dribbling the ball is traveling. Moving your pivot foot once you've stopped dribbling is traveling.

Carrying/palming. When a player dribbles the ball with his hand too far to the side of or, sometimes, even under the ball.

Double Dribble. Dribbling the ball with both hands on the ball at the same time or picking up the dribble and then dribbling again is a double dribble.

Held ball. Occasionally, two or more opposing players will gain possession of the ball at the same time. In order to avoid a prolonged and/or violent tussle, the referee stops the action and awards the ball to one team or the other on a rotating basis.

Goaltending. If a defensive player interferes with a shot while it's on the way down toward the basket, while it's on the way up toward the basket after having touched the backboard, or while it's in the cylinder above the rim, it's goaltending and the shot counts. If committed by an offensive player, it's a violation and the ball is awarded to the opposing team for a throw-in.

Backcourt violation. Once the offense has brought the ball across the mid-court line, they cannot go back across the line during possession. If they do, the ball is awarded to the other team to pass inbounds.

Time restrictions. A player passing the ball inbounds has five seconds to pass the ball. If he does not, then the ball is awarded to the other team. Other time restrictions include the rule that a player cannot have the ball for more than five seconds when being closely guarded and, in some states and levels, shot-clock restrictions requiring a team to attempt a shot within a given time frame.

Player Positions

Center. Centers are generally your tallest players. They generally are positioned near the basket.

Offensive -- The center's goal is to get open for a pass and to shoot. They are also responsible for blocking defenders, known as picking or screening, to open other players up for driving to the basket for a goal. Centers are expected to get some offensive rebounds and put-backs.

Defensive -- On defense, the center's main responsibility is to keep opponents from shooting by blocking shots and passes in the key area. They also are expected to get a lot of rebounds because they're taller.

Forward. Your next tallest players will most likely be your forwards. While a forward may be called upon to play under the hoop, they may also be required to operate in the wings and corner areas.

Offensive -- Forwards are responsible to get free for a pass, take outside shots, drive for goals, and rebound.

Defensive -- Responsibilities include preventing drives to the goal and rebounding.

Guard. These are potentially your shortest players and they should be really good at dribbling fast, seeing the court, and passing. It is their job to bring the ball down the court and set up offensive plays.

Offensive -- Dribbling, passing, and setting up offensive plays are a guard's main responsibilities. They also need to be able to drive to the basket and to shoot from the perimeter.

Defensive -- On defense, a guard is responsible for stealing passes, contesting shots, preventing drives to the hoop, and for boxing out.

Where Should New Players and Coaches Start?

First, we suggest that you focus on learning the basic fundamentals of basketball.

To teach fundamental skills, start with these 72 free basketball drills that include full diagrams and step by step instructions. They will help you develop strong fundamentals and basketball skills.

Like any sport, no matter what your age -- whether you're a professional athlete or a youth player just getting started -- you need strong fundamentals to be successful!

Unfortunately, most people don't really understand what that means.

The fundamentals include working on the little things that make you better -- no matter what team or coach you play for -- or what offense or defense you are running.

For example, by working on the fundamentals of shooting, you will get better no matter what team you play for. The fundamentals of shooting include proper foot alignment, leg bend, hand position, arm angle, follow through, and so on. These are some of the little things that make a difference. Learn them!

The same goes for lays ups, foot work, post play, passing, jab steps, jump stops, pivoting, blocking out, and so on.

We suggest that you start by learning the proper technique and fundamentals for:

Basketball Glossary

Airball - A basketball shot that misses everything; net, backboard, and rim.
Ally-oop - A pass high above the basketball rim that allows a player to catch and slam dunk or drop in the ball in one motion.
Assist - A pass to another basketball player that leads directly to a made basket.
Backboard - The rectangular piece of wood or fiberglass that the rim attaches to.

Bench - The substitute basketball players.

Block Out or Box Out - Getting your body between the basketball player and the basket to get a rebound.

Blocked Shot - When a defensive basketball player makes contact with the basketball while another player is shooting the ball.

Bounce Pass - In this pass, the basketball bounces about two-thirds of the way from the passer to the receiver.

Brick - A poor shot that bounces hard off the rim or backboard.

Carry the Ball - similar to traveling. When a basketball player moves with the ball without properly dribbling it.

Charging - an offensive foul which occurs when an offensive basketball player runs into a defender who has established position.

Chest Pass - the basketball is passed directly from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest. This has the advantage that it takes the least time to complete, as the passer tries to pass as directly straight as possible.

Court - the area bounded by 2 sidelines and 2 end lines containing a basket at each end, in which a basketball game is played.

Defense - the act of preventing the offense from scoring; the basketball team without the ball.

Double Team - when two basketball teammates join efforts in guarding a single opponent.

Dribbling - the act of bouncing the basketball continuously.

Dunk - when a player close to the basket jumps and strongly throws the ball down into it.

End Line - the boundary line behind each basket; also called the baseline.

Fast Break - a basketball play that begins with a defensive rebound by a player who immediately sends an outlet pass toward midcourt to his waiting teammates; these teammates can sprint to their basket and quickly shoot before enough opponents catch up to stop them.

Field Goal - when the basketball enters the basket from above during play; worth 2 points, or 3 points if the shooter was standing behind the 3-point line.

Forwards - the two basketball players on the team that are responsible for rebounding and scoring close up to the basket. They are usually taller than the guards.

Foul Lane - the painted area bordered by the end line and the foul line, outside which players must stand during a free-throw; also the area an offensive basketball player cannot spend more than 3-seconds at a time in.

Foul Line - the line 15' from the backboard and parallel to the end line from which basketball players shoot free-throws.

Guards - the two basketball players who usually handle setting up plays and passing to teammates closer to the basket.

Jump Ball - Two opposing basketball players jump for a basketball an official tosses above and between them.

Layup - a close up shot taken after dribbling to the basket.

Offense - the team with possession of the basketball.

Personal Foul - contact between basketball players that may result in injury or provide one team with an unfair advantage; players may not push, hold, trip, hack, elbow, restrain or charge into an opponent.

Rebound - when a basketball player grabs a ball that is coming off the rim or backboard after a shot attempt; see offensive rebound and defensive rebound.

Screen - when the offensive basketball player stands between a teammate and a defender to give his teammate the chance to take an open shot.

Shot Clock - a clock that limits the time a team with the basketball has to shoot it to a given amount of time.

Traveling - when the ball handler takes too many steps without dribbling; also called walking.

Turnover - when the offense loses possession through its own fault by passing the basketball out of bounds or committing a floor violation.

Zone Defense - a defense where each defender is responsible for an area of the court and must guard any player who enters that area.

Statistics

There are a lot of statistics that are kept for the game of basketball. Statistics are a good way to tell how you are doing in a sport and what you are best at. They can also help to determine where you and your team need to improve.

Here are some common basketball statistics:

Scoring

Of course scoring is one of the most important stats in the game. You need points to win. All the other statistics don't matter a lot, if they don't lead to points. Some scoring stats that are kept include individual games, points per game (ppg), and total career points.

PPG = Points per game
FG % = Field goal percentage (percent of shots taken that were made)
FT % = Free throw percentage (percent of free throws taken that were made)


In the NBA the most points scored in a game was 100 by Wilt Chamberlain, the highest points per game (ppg) average is a tie between Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan at 30.1 ppg, and the most career points scored was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387 points.

Assists

Assists are when a player makes a pass that leads directly to a basket. The official score keeper decides if the pass led directly to the basket, so there is some personal opinion involved in this stat.

APG = Assists per game

The all time leader in assists per game in the NBA is Magic Johnson with an 11.2 career APG average. John Stockton had the most career assists with 15,806.

Rebounds

A rebound is getting the ball after a missed shot. Size is important to being a good rebounder, but position and anticipation help as well.

RPG - Rebounds per game

The all time NBA leader for rebounds is Wilt Chamberlain with 22.9 rebounds per game. Wilt also gathered in the most career rebounds with 23,924 and had the most ever in a single game with 55.

Blocked Shots

A blocked shot is when you use your hand to deflect a shot away from the basket. Often the best shot blockers are tall, have long arms, and can jump quickly. Timing is also important to excel in blocking a shot.

BPG - Blocks per game

The all time NBA leader in blocks per game (bpg) was Mark Eaton who averaged 3.5 blocks per game for his career. The most blocks in a career was 3,830 by Hakeem Olajuwon and the most blocks in a single game was 17 by Elmore Smith.

Steals

Taking the ball from another player without fouling is called a steal. You can steal the ball off the dribble, knock it out of your opponent's hands, or intercept a pass.

SPG - Steals per game

The NBA all times leader in steals per game is Alvin Robertson with 2.71. John Stockton has the most career steals with 3,265.

Turnovers

A turnover is when you have the ball and then you lose possession. This could be because of a bad pass, losing the ball on the dribble, committing an offensive foul, or any number of other reasons. Turnovers are not a good stat to have on your scorecard.

The Triple Double

A triple double is when a player has double figures (10 or more) in three different statistics. Generally a triple double includes points, assists, and rebounds. Rarely someone will get a triple double with steals or blocks. A quadruple double is possible as well, although these are extremely rare.

Fun Basketball Games

H-O-R-S-E

• Object is to not spell the word "HORSE".
• Players take turns shooting.
• When a player makes a shot, then the next player in line must make the same shot.
• If the next player misses, she gets the next letter in the word "horse".
• As long as the shot is made, the next player in line must make that same shot until the turn gets back to the original shot maker or until the shot is missed.
• The next player in line after a missed shot, gets to start over again with a shot of their choice.
• When a player spells the entire word "HORSE". they are out of the game.
• Last player left wins the game.

Around the World

• Object is to be the first player to make it "around the world".
• To make it around the world, you must make a series of shots in order. You can set up your own series of shots for your game. An example is given in the picture below.
• Each player gets a turn.
• When it's your turn you take shots in order. If you make a shot, you get to keep going until you miss.
• When you miss you can choose to end your turn and stay where you are or you can take a "chance" shot.
• If the chance shot is made, the player moves on. If it is missed their turn is over and they have to start from the beginning on their next turn.

Possible shot order for Around the World

Twenty-one

• Object is to be the first player to 21. If you go over 21, you have to go back to 13.
• Typically played with three to five players.
• One player gets to start the game by shooting free throws.
• If he makes a free throw, he gets another free throw, up to three consecutive free throws.
• Each made free throw is worth one point.
• If a free throw is made, the ball is live and all players can rebound the ball.
• The ball must be taken back. Depending on the court rules this might be the free throw line or the top of the key.
• Once taken back, the next player to score a basket gets two points.
• Whoever makes a basket, then gets to shoot free throws.
• If a player makes three consecutive free throws, then they get the ball at the top of the key and the ball is live.
• All rules generally apply as in normal basketball. This includes no walking, double dribbling, etc.

Three-on-three Half Court

If you don't have enough people for a full court five on five game of basketball, you can always play a smaller game. Three-on-three half court can be great fun. Everyone tends to the ball more and has more chances to shoot. One good rule to use for three-on-three is taking the ball back between possessions. After one team grabs a defensive rebound, they must then take the ball back to the top of the key before shooting.

Team Drills

Dribbling Drills

Variations: This drill is great for younger kids to work on their dribbling. Each player has a ball. They spread out on the court so each will have room to dribble. Coach stands in the middle. Coach gives dribbling commands such as right hand, left hand, back and forth, low dribble, etc. Increase the speed of the changes near the end for some fun!

Full Court: Players stand in two lines about 12 feet apart at one end of the court. Players in line #1 each have a ball. The first player in each line starts off down the court at the same pace. Player #1 dribbles to the top of the key, then passes to player #2. Player #2 dribbles past half court, then passes the ball back to player #1. Player #1 dribbles almost to the base line, then passes the ball back. They then move to form a line to go back the other direction. The next pair of players in line start the drill when the pair before them makes their first pass.

Stop and Turn: Four to five players and one ball per line. The first player dribbles to the free throw line, stops quickly, turns and passes the ball back to the next player in line. She then hustles to the back of the line. Work on different types of passes including bounce and chest passes. Alternate hands used to dribble.

Layup Drills

Basic Layups: Line up in two equal lines (lines #1 and #2), one line on each wing. The first player in line #1 has a ball. The first player in line #1 performs a layup while the first player in line #2 grabs the rebound. The player who grabbed the rebound passes the ball to the next player in line #1. Each of the players go back into line on the opposite side. After a while change the side with the ball so players practice layups from both sides.

Shooting Drills

Pass and Shoot: Line up in two equal lines, one on the wing and one at the top of the key. The line at the top of the key has the ball and is the passing line. The line on the wing is the shooting line. The player at the top of the key passes the ball to the player on the wing. The wing player shoots, follows his shot, and moves to the end of the passing line. The passer moves to the end of the shooting line. You can change up the shots taken. Include three pointers, shooting directly after receiving the pass, jump shots after a quick dribble, etc.

Knockout Shot: Place players in groups of 3 to 5 based on shooting skill level. Each group has two basketballs. This can be practiced from different areas of the floor such as the free throw line or three point line. The first player shoots. If he makes the shot he grabs the ball and returns to the line. If he misses, he must follow the shot. The next player in line tries to then make the shot before the first shooter makes the follow. If the next player makes the shot first, the first shooter is knocked out. This can be a permanent knock out or the player knocked out must run a lap prior to returning to line.