Lakers’ Nick Young looks to boost younger players while waiting for his breakthrough
Lakers guard Nick Young reacts after teammate Marcelo Huertas scores against the Suns.
Nick Young is gripping three beverage bottles in one hand, an impressive feat while he extends his other hand as a greeting.
One bottle is a healthy coconut-pineapple concoction (“my protein,” he says), another is root beer (“my sugar”) and the third is plain old water (“my hydration”).
It’s not direct symbolism for the Lakers, but there’s something there, a balancing act among the young, old and in-between players such as Young.
The self-proclaimed “Swaggy P” is off to an average start. His 10.3 points per game are neither here nor there as the Lakers stumble to a 2-9 start.
His accuracy is notable, 43.4% from three-point range, but his minutes are nominal, down to 20.4 a game.
Young was scoreless against Dallas last week and averaged 12 points in two games since then, indicative of his so-so season.
“I’m trying to still find joy in it but at the same time we need to get a lot more wins,” Young said Thursday. “We gave away a lot of games and you can feel the atmosphere slipping a little bit. I’m just trying to keep my spirits right and keep everybody in a positive mood.
“It’s tough, especially these young guys losing and seeing the media not talk about it the right way. I’ve been there last year, I’m here to talk to them this year.”
Young, 30, played only 42 games last season because of thumb and knee injuries. He lost favor with Lakers Coach Byron Scott because of his disdain for defense and his continual over-the-top giddiness off the court.
Scott has maintained Young’s defense has improved. And there are no more jubilant celebrations after Lakers victories.
The breakthrough game hasn’t appeared, though Young’s playing time has increased lately — 26 minutes against Detroit and 25 against Phoenix. He hasn’t scored 20 points yet after doing it 24 times in 2013-14 and even eight times last season.
He’d be best to take the advice he said he was giving the Lakers’ younger players.
“L.A. is L.A. This is what you signed up for,” Young said. “You’ve got to put your hard hat on and keep going.”
Williams awaiting
Another Lakers reserve, Lou Williams, has had mixed results since signing a three-year, $21-million contract last July.
He averages 12.9 points and 2.8 assists while shooting just 33%.
“He’s done a lot better as a leader than I thought,” Scott said Thursday. “He hasn’t shot the ball well, and that’s something that he’s been real upset about.”
Williams, however, tried to downplay it.
“I’ve shot way worse than I have now. It comes with the territory — when you’re a scorer you have good runs and you have bad runs,” he said.
Williams, 29, is also adjusting to handling the ball a lot more than past seasons, sometimes taking point-guard duties late in games in place of rookie D’Angelo Russell.
“Initiating the offense, bringing the ball down, it’s probably been five or six years,” Williams said.
Etc.
Kobe Bryant is expected to play Friday against Toronto after sitting out Monday’s game in Phoenix for rest. He is averaging 16.9 points and shooting 33.6% while playing in eight of 11 games.
Lakers vs. TORONTO
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Where: Staples Center.
On the air: TV: TWC SportsNet, TWC Deportes; Radio: 710, 1330.
Records: Lakers 2-9; Raptors 7-6.
Record vs. Raptors (2014-15): 1-1.
Update: The Raptors have punch in their starting lineup but very little depth. DeMar DeRozan (21.1 points) and Kyle Lowry (20.3 points, 6.3 assists) keep Toronto in many games. Free-agent signee DeMarre Carroll hasn’t made a huge impact, averaging 12.6 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting only 37.4%.
Twitter: @Mike_Bresnahan
Times correspondent Eric Pincus contributed to this report.
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Dan Woike's weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
