Byron Scott Took Dion Waiters Out Due To "Lack of Focus"

Dion Waiters didn't have a great night against the Bucks on Tuesday. He shot just 1 of 7 from the field and turned the ball over four times in just 14 minutes. It seems a bit odd that he'd play only 14 minutes as he's trying to earn the starting role.

After the game, head coach Byron Scott said that he thought the team, as a whole, played selfishly. He also added that he took Dion out in the second half after he drew up a play and the rookie shooting guard "messed it up." He attributed that to a "lack of focus" and decided to pull Dion from the game at that point. Many of Dion's struggles are connected to the fact that he simply doesn't have a firm understanding of the offensive philosophies and plays at this point. If this were the middle of March, I'd be concerned. But it's the first week of training camp and there's three weeks until opening night against the Washington Wizards.

Brendan Bowers of StepienRules.com talked to Dion Waiters after the game and it seems as though he knows what he's doing wrong.

"My biggest takeaway from tonight is just learning not to rush", Dion Waiters told StepienRules.com. "That’s the biggest thing for me right now. I found myself trying to force the issue a lot, and that’s just not going to work. I got to try to be more patient. I found myself out there sometimes tonight thinking too much. I just got to play my game and play the way I know I can play".

This is basically what I've been saying. If we're in the middle of season and Dion is still struggling like this, I give you permission to be concerned. But it's preseason and it's going to take some time. Dion Waiters needs to try to be more patient -- and so do his fans.