The Lakers’ Greatest Concern

Laker fans should be worrying, but not for the reasons most media have been speculating. Yes, Steve Nash is old, and yes Dwight Howard is coming off back surgery, and Kobe Bryant has more mileage than that old Toyota that has been in your family for decades; but player personnel is not the greatest area of concern for to the Lakers.

The greatest concern is head coach, Mike Brown.

Heading into the 2012-13 NBA season, the second year coach boasts an impressive career record of 467-313 (.658), and a playoff record of 47-36 (.566). From 2008-10, Brown even coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to consecutive 60-win seasons. Despite all of his statistical success, Brown has only one NBA Finals appearance on his resume, which ended in a four-game sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. Brown’s supporters say Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert should have added better help for Lebron James, and critics say Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, and Shaq were enough.  Regardless, the jury is still out on whether Brown can lead a team to a championship.

Chemistry

An NBA head coach’s largest task is managing the personalities of his stars, veterans, and newcomers to create a winning atmosphere.

The Lakers needed arguably the greatest coach in NBA history, ten-time world champion Phil Jackson, to successfully blend the personalities of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’ Neal, and most recently Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Metta World Peace, and Pau Gasol.

This is not to say Brown cannot control Hollywood’s newest starlet in Dwight Howard, but he has yet to prove in his career that he can help his players thrive under pressure.

Many fans remember just last season when Gasol seemed to be the headliner of NBA trade rumors for a few months, only to remain with the team. Perhaps its unfair to compare the a single coach to one of the all-time best, but Jackson preferred to keep all issues in house, and I’m sure all Laker fans, and especially Gasol would’ve preferred such an approach.

Head Coach vs Team Personality

Mike Brown is 42-years-old, making him only four years older than point guard Steve Nash. Brown also started coaching in the NBA in 1997, one year after Kobe Bryant was drafted.

This is not to say Brown is not deserving of a head coaching spot, but in all professions, respect is earned and not given. With over 15 seasons in coaching experience, Brown has been around the NBA long enough to make a name for himself, but he is not quite in the top tier of coaches. For this reason, it is concerning that he is coaching one of the most heavily scrutinized teams in pro sports. The Lakers have raised 16 championship banners in their history, and as a result the franchise and its fan base expect nothing less than a championship every season. Anything less is a disappointment.

Rotation Bingo

Some could argue Brown was plagued last season by limited practice time due to the NBA lockout, but a consistent rotation continued to be an issue past the all-star break. At age 33, no player even challenged Kobe for the highest usage rate in the league.

Discouraged by inconsistent play, Brown seemed almost allergic to his bench.

The bench averaged the least amount of points per game last season, and even when Brown left in a couple starters, the bench seemed lifeless. Not even the acquisition of point guard Ramon Sessions could help boost the bench play when Steve Blake went back into his natural bench rotation.

Potential to Improve

Brown’s first year as the Lakers’ head coach did not come without hardships. He had a multitude of obstacles:

• NBA lockout, a 66-game shortened season, almost no practice time, and therefore limited time to instill his system.
• Lamar Odom’s trade situation to begin the season.
• No top tier point guard to help Kobe spark the offense.
• Gasol trade rumors affecting the locker room.
• Bynum, whose heart was usually a game time decision
• Lakers players’ lack of defensive effort

A head coach can only fix effort to a certain point, and defense is all effort. At some point, something has got to give and either these players will conform to Brown’s system or they wont. Until or unless they do, it will be a struggle.

This season will either be remembered as a time of trial and triumph, or it will be a blip in the Lakers franchise history that most fans will dismiss. Either way, this is the season where Mike Brown can prove his value as a leader. Only time and results will tell.

Be patient Laker fans. Brown is the Lakers biggest concern, but he can also be the greatest asset to the Lakers if the players abide by his system and learn to play championship team defense. Then and then only might the city of Los Angeles see another banner in 2013.

P.S.

Really, do not worry Laker fans. Just because the Lakers are 0-3 and ESPN says the last time this happened the world didn’t have the iphone… or cable TV, doesn’t mean they can’t do it. So maybe the Mayans were right and the world will end before the all-star break and we will never truly see the true potential of the Lakers. STOP! It’s fine, we’re fine, it’s all fine. The Lakers are the Lakers for a reason; they always seem to find a way.