My Los Angeles Lakers were swept from the playoffs by the team I strongly believe will win the 2011 NBA Championship. My reasoning for this will come in another post. I wanna take this time to address what has become the top story on all sports outlets. The hiring of former Cleveland Cavaliers coach, Mike Brown. According to public opinion, this is a TERRIBLE hire. Though I'm not terribly impressed by the decision, I'm also not terribly disappointed.
As I considered the possibilities, I realized that regardless of the choice and ensuing reaction, that person is NOT who Phil Jackson was. You don't replace a coach who's won 11 titles with a coach who's won 11 or more unless you think Bill Russell would have taken the job. I don't.
It was assumed that Brian Shaw, Phil's top assistant, would be given the job. That never seemed likely to me. The people I spoke to with an opinion on the matter endorsed him for what I consider selfish reasons. It's not enough for me that he's black, from the Bay Area, played for the Lakers, and I know him personally. My concern can best be expressed in analogy. If you're a parent with a luxury vehicle, an economy car, and a teenage new driver, when it's time to hand over the keys, which set are you giving to your your young "accident in waiting"? You don't trust a first time driver with your luxury car and I don't trust a first time coach with my Lakers. Period. As much work as B. Shaw put in to prepare for a head coaching job, there's no way to prepare for the magnitude of the pressure that comes to the head coach of that team. I'm not saying Shaw couldn't handle the pressure, there's just less margin for error (in my mind) with the Lakers considering what's expected of that team vs. what's expected of a lot of other teams and with inexperience, comes error. He's been in pressurized situations as a player, and as an assistant coach. But the light shines differently on the head coach. The Lakers coaching spotlight is one that's probably best handled by someone with battle-tested head coaching experience.
Another priority in finding the right coach was defensive emphasis. The Lakers have been a bad pick-and-roll defending team since the Shaq & Kobe days (Brian Shaw played on those teams) and we saw how that and other defensive issues had them crawling to the regular season finish line and got them beat with brooms during the 2nd round of the playoffs.
The most obvious issue is the one that to me, makes this hire more sensible than others. Coaching a high-maintenance superstar. Coach Brown was hired in Cleveland in 2005 to help LeBron James turn the Cavs around after two years of bad finishes. In Brown's first year, he coached the Cavs to the playoffs for the first time since 1998. In year two, the Cavs went all the way to the NBA Finals. Here's that team's starting five: LeBron James, Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, Drew Goooden, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. :/ Not exactly Murderer's Row. Hell, you're not likely to suffer so much as a paper cut strolling down THAT row. If Mike can figure out how to coach THAT team to the finals, I'm certain he can figure out how to keep a team with Kobe, Pau, Lamar, etc. playoff-relevant. No championships are guaranteed but being a championship CALIBER team will still be possible, and likely.
Mike Brown comes from good coaching pedigree. After 5 years as a scout and video coordinator for the Denver Nuggets, he was hired to be the Spurs assistant coach in 2000. He was a part of the team's championship season in '03 and in '04, became Rick Carlisle asst. for the Indiana Pacers, who made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Then came his aforementioned Cavs success. These were all teams with high expectations, strong emphasis on defense, and star egos to pacify. Mike's been there, "did dat."
Peep this: The Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat is the likely matchup in the finals. Their respective head coaches? Former Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and former scout and video coordinator, Eric Spoelstra. Through the years, no one imagined either of them would be here. They are.
As a student, after taking and failing a test a few times, unless the administrators change the questions, you'll pass the test. The NBA has been studying the Lakers triangle offense and poor pick-and-roll defense for 11 years and are passing the answers around the rest of the league like a cheat sheet during school finals. The best way to combat this is to change the teaching staff (coach), the lesson plan (offensive/defensive strategies), get better materials (free agency), and see if they can't stump the league in the 2nd semester of upcoming NBA seasons.
To be honest, what this team does during the free agency period will say more about the future success possibilities than whether Mike Brown and Kobe are gonna become drinking buddies, but inevitably, THAT'S the story folks will follow with the most interest.
Feel free to comment.
Ivy League Here - I must say that after reading this, you have come up with some very strong points. Like you, I feel that it is time for the Lakers to move in another direction with their triangle offense and poor defensive strategies as well as make some major moves during the off season. The major problem that I have with Mike Brown is the fact that he really has not shown me anything yet. I am not sure why he has been giving the title of a defensive minded coach. When you have a team that has nothing but big bodies… (Drew Goooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas), a point that can play some lock down Defense…(Eric Snow) and one off the best defenders in King James…the defense will come. The Cavs problem was that no one could shoot the ball and help L. James out. I mean look at Phil when he coached the Bills, he had one of the best defensive team ever with M. Jordan…(First Defensive Team), S. Pippen…(First Defensive Team) Rodman…(First Denfensive Team, Most Rebounds in a season and Defensive Player of the Year), but he is not viewed and a defensive guru. So that brings me to my first point, what has Mike Brown really done. We all saw what happen to the Cavs when L. James left and granted Mike Brown left the same time, but come on man. I will say that he does have the experience in dealing with Top name players, but not 100% sure he is the best man for the job.
ReplyDeleteThen I ask myself, who is the best man for the job…to be real, I am not even sure. DAMN!!! I can hear my grandmother saying, “If you are going to talk bad about someone else’s plan, you better and a better plan ready to go”. With that being said, I will shut up now and wish the Lakers all the luck in the world. My bad grandmother. LOL!!!
Ivy! Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteIvy, as a coach of this team, he doesn't have to reinvent the wheel. He just has to keep the vehicle on the road and maybe get better directions for the upcoming road trip. The previous driver, Phil Jackson, may have been using a dated map. :) Remember, Phil Jackson hadn't shown anyone anything before he was appointed head coach of the Bulls.
Well I am going to put my two cents in this discussion and say that your analogy means that the only people who are good enough to be head coaches are former head coaches and the NBA should just continue to recycle the same people; bad idea! I think Mike Brown is a good coach however I do think that Brian Shaw would have been good for the Lakers and feel that decision made by the Lakers in no way takes away from his ability to be a good coach. Just because he worked under Phil does not mean that he was or would have been a clone of Phil Jackson. I find it interesting that you talk about Mike Brown coming good coaching pedigree. Is Phil Jackson not good coaching pedigree or was it a figment of our imagination all those years of championships? I think that new blood is needed all around the league. New blood, diversity within the whole organization, etc., and perhaps that is what Jerry Buss's son was trying to do along with trying to make his own mark in the organization. I do know that without a chance a person cannot prove themselves. I was not a manager until someone decided to give me the chance to become one.
ReplyDeleteMona, thanks for commenting. You're always welcome. You missed the point I was making with my analogy and the statement I'm making about B. Shaw's readiness to coach the Lakers, not be a coach in general. But your two cents are valuable.
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