Lakers’ Nick Young gets his swag back, at least for one game

Yes, even Nick Young gets down on himself.

It’s easy to do when a personal slump is tossed onto the fire of the Lakers’ season-long skid.

Young’s coach was criticizing him. Fans wondered where his game went.

But there was a small rebirth Monday, a seven-for-12 effort worth 24 points against the Phoenix Suns after nine mostly horrid games in which he shot 29%.

It’s hard to say the swag was back after the Lakers lost by 15. But Young was able to say it.

“I try to block out all the negativity and be ‘Swaggy’ out there still,” he said. “They told me, ‘You can’t turn “Swaggy” off. You made this guy, you’ve got to be him.’ ”

Young also credited Kobe Bryant for inspiring him with a 17-assist game last week against Cleveland, the most Bryant ever had in his 19-year career.

“I just want to get a double-double one day in my career,” Young said.

He has a lot of work to do there. His career high is six assists. Young had three against Phoenix, tying his season-high. His career average is 1.1 a game.

If nothing else, Young added a now-familiar attempt at humor after the game. He talked about some of the players he watched growing up — Bryant, Reggie Miller, Rex Chapman.

Then he mentioned Dan Majerle and turned to teammate Jordan Hill.

“That’s not your daddy,” Young said, assuming that Hill, a fan of reggae, likes listening to Bob Marley.

Bryant listed as questionable

Bryant met up with the team in Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon after staying home for more rest during Monday’s game. The Lakers are listing him as questionable for Wednesday’s game in New Orleans.

He has missed eight of the last 15 games because of what the team calls general body soreness.

Reserve center Tarik Black will not play against New Orleans after sustaining a sprained right ankle in the fourth quarter against Phoenix. Carlos Boozer is listed as probable after sustaining a bruised left triceps against Phoenix.

Ronnie Price went through part of Tuesday’s practice after being advised to use his right arm as little as possible. He is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game because of a sore elbow.

Ups and downs

Like most rookies, point guard Jordan Clarkson continues to experience extremes as he gets more playing time with the Lakers.

He had an impressive put-back dunk in the second quarter Tuesday, easily the Lakers’ highlight of the game. He also induced Isaiah Thomas into a backcourt violation, though it was mainly Thomas’ fault for trying a wild cross-over in the third quarter.

One more positive: Clarkson hit a 21-footer to beat the shot clock in the fourth quarter.

But he wasn’t fast enough to stay with Thomas a few minutes after that, giving up a layup and leading to a short exchange of words with teammate Wesley Johnson. Then Thomas beat Clarkson for another layup.

LAKERS AT NEW ORLEANS

When: 5 PST.

Where: Smoothie King Center.

On the air: TV: TWC SportsNet, TWC Deportes; Radio: 710, 1330.

Records: Lakers 12-30; Pelicans 20-21.

Record vs. Pelicans: 0-2.

Update: The Pelicans were pretty awful Monday, allowing New York to end a franchise-record 16-game losing streak with a 99-92 victory. The Pelicans, however, were without two injured starters — power forward Anthony Davis (sprained toe) and point guard Jrue Holiday (sore ankle). Davis is expected to return against the Lakers, but Holiday is still questionable.

Follow Mike Bresnahan on Twitter @Mike_Brenahan