Exclusive: Byron Scott Talks Lakers Championship Standards, Luka Doncic, Tyrese Haliburton

The Los Angeles Lakers are not expected to be a legitimate championship contender in the West this season. For Byron Scott, that’s not acceptable. Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton drives by Milwaukee Bucks guard Malik Beasley in the semifinal game of the NBA In-Season Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Image: Getty) The former guard won three championships with the Showtime Lakers in the 1980s and says anything less is a failure. “Every guy that played in that era, the Showtime Era, that’s our standard,” Scott told Casino.org in an exclusive interview. “We don’t know anything but that. It’s either win a championship or it’s a lost season. We are held at a higher standard, and I think Luka (Doncic) and those guys are going to find that out. We expect to win championships, and we’re not going to lower our standards.” The Lakers went 53-29 last season, losing in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have one championship in the past 16 years, capturing the 2019-20 title in the bubble during COVID. Los Angeles has an over/under win total projection of just 46.5 heading into the season. “The fans aren’t going to lower their standards, either,” Scott said. “If they don’t win in Luka’s era, over the next two or three years, there’s going to be a whole lot of stuff going on. That’s how it should be. We did create a high standard, and then Kobe and Shaq lived up to that standard. OK, Luka, it’s your turn.” Scott: Lakers ‘Not Even Close’ To Spurs and Thunder The Lakers lost LeBron James in free agency this offseason. They added players like Quentin Grimes and Walker Kessler to the roster but Scott doesn’t think it’s enough to push the team into the top tier of the West. “I think the moves they made are OK,” Scott said. “It’s nothing that’s going to get them to the level where they need to be, as far as in that Western Conference. There are two studs in the Western Conference, and that’s OKC and San Antonio. The Lakers are not even close to those two teams right now.” Scott said the Lakers also have competition for a top four seed in the conference. “I thought Minnesota got better this summer with LaMelo (Ball) coming to the team along with the Ant-Man (Anthony Edwards),” Scott said. “And Denver is always going to be a threat when you have (Nikola) Jokic, who is probably the best player in the league. And I didn’t even mention Houston, which is another young up-and-coming team. “I don’t know if they get in that upper echelon of the top four. The moves they made helped them on the offensive end. I don’t know how much they helped them on the defensive end.” Scott: Doncic needs to defend better Scott said the Lakers’ biggest deficiency is on the defensive end of the court. Doncic and Austin Reaves are talented offensive players but Scott wants to see more on the other end, especially from Doncic. “If he really wants this team to be successful and win championships — I still haven’t seen a team in the top-5 that’s won a championship that hasn’t been one of the best defensive teams in the league as well,” Scott said. “They have a long way to go on that end of the floor, and a lot of that is going to be predicated on how he’s going to defend this year.” The departure of James will alter some of the shot distribution this season, but Scott believes there won’t be much of a change from Doncic since he was already the offensive focal point last season. “I don’t think he will change his game at all,” Scott said. “Last year, LeBron was basically the one that took a step back and said, ‘Luka, this is your team.’ I think Luka will continue to play the same way he played his whole career.” Scott: ‘No doubt’ Haliburton can regain All-Star form Scott had a nice second act in his career with the Pacers in the 1990s. The current group is trying to get back into the mix in the Eastern Conference. It made the NBA Finals two years ago but went just 19-63 last season without star Tyrese Haliburton, who missed the season with a torn Achilles. Scott said it’s on Haliburton, a two-time All-Star, to remind people of his greatness. “When you’re out for as long as Haliburton was out, people do tend to forget about you,” Scott said. “Now that he’s coming back, he has to make them remember what he was back in the day, and get back to that level.” Scott said Haliburton will take some time to round into form. “It usually takes a little time,” Scott said. “When you miss a whole year, it takes basketball to get you back into basketball shape. A lot of people can run and do all this stuff off the court, but it’s a different shape when you’re on the basketball court. I think it’s going to take him some time to get readjusted to that.“When I say time, I think it’s training camp through November and December to get his timing back and feel comfortable making certain moves and certain plays that he was used to doing. So it will take him some time, but I have no doubt he can get back to that level.” Scott: Pacers can be a ‘sleeper’ in the East The Eastern Conference will be tough sledding this year. The Knicks are the defending champions and several teams are much-improved, but Scott isn’t counting out the Pacers. “I think Indiana is one of those teams that can be a sleeper in the Eastern Conference,” Scott said. “But when you look at the Eastern Conference: the Knicks, Detroit, you look at Philly and what they’ve done. Cleveland. Boston, don’t count them out either. The Eastern Conference has gotten so much better from top to bottom. “It’s not like it used to be about five years ago when the top four teams had winning records and the next four that made the playoffs had losing records. Now the top eight are all good teams that can win damn near 50 games or more. The Eastern Conference has gotten so much better, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it develops over there.” Haliburton will need to return to star status to help make Indiana a contender, but Scott says not to count them out. “I think Indiana is going to be much-improved, because he is one of the better point guards in this league,” Scott said. “He’s proven that over the years.” The post Exclusive: Byron Scott Talks Lakers Championship Standards, Luka Doncic, Tyrese Haliburton appeared first on Casino.org.