Bill Simmons sets fire to Kobe Bryant, Byron Scott in his latest podcast

Byron Scott has become the scapegoat for all the Los Angeles Lakers problems. From his comments on Kobe Bryant's terrible shot selection being "fine" or saying that he was putting wins ahead of the development of the Lakers' young players, to his insistance on playing veterans ahead of those same young players, Scott has upset a lot of basketball fans. The head coach has taken criticism in print and on social media, with some even arguing that he should be fired.

You knew it was just a matter of time before HBO's Bill Simmons weighed in with his thoughts on the 1-7 Lakers, and he didn't hold back, dropping bombs all over the purple and gold.

"Brooklyn, the Lakers, and Philly are just atrocious," Simmons began in his latest podcast, "[the Lakers] have a coach who is basically an usher at the stadium who gets to coach the team. It's basically like they gave an usher a clipboard, and then they have young guys who are fun, combined with Kobe Bryant, and Roy Hibbert, and all these people that don't fit in with the young fun guys who should be running around and running."

Then Simmons took aim at Kobe, currently out with a back injury but also playing arguably the worst basketball of his career at age 37.

"The best thing Kobe could do for this team is just to pretend he's hurt," Simmons said, "but he won't do that right?"

Some might think this is just sour grapes from a Boston Celtics fan with no love for the Lakers, but considering this was how the Lakers last looked on the court, Simmons struck while the iron was burning hot:

I guess we'll just call that game-closing call "The Usher" from now on.

*Quotes transcribed via The Bill Simmons Podcast