Even before the start of training camp, the new-look LA Lakers were preaching patience.
The understanding was that it might take some time for new guys Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to mesh with the rest of the team, that chemistry would have to develop over months, not days, and that the newly-installed Princeton offense was going to require experience to master. They preached patience throughout a winless preseason, and again after an embarrassing opening night loss to the Mavericks at home.
Kobe Bryant's frustration with Lakers coach Mike Brown is growing. (AP Photo)
But now that the team has fallen to 1-4 following Wednesday’s loss in Utah—the
Lakers’ worst offensive output, with just 86 points on 33.8 percent
shooting and 11 assists to go with 19 turnovers—patience is wearing
thin, and coach Mike Brown is under increasing fire.
With that in mind, team president Jim Buss, whose team was 0-3 for the first time in more than 30 years of the Buss era, quelled the notion that the Lakers need to shake up their coaching ranks in order to crack open this team’s potential. Speaking to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Buss said, “I have no problems with Mike Brown at all. He just works too hard and he’s too knowledgeable for this to be happening.
“So either the system is flawed or something’s going on. Or, like the Triangle (offense), it’s very hard to pick up and understand. I’m not a basketball mind like he is or the players are, and the players are fine with it, so I just have to be patient.”
From the beginning, observers from Magic Johnson to Charles Barkley to Jeff Van Gundy have been critical of the Lakers’ attempts to implement the Princeton system. Nash has been out with a leg injury, but when he is in the starting five, the Princeton doesn’t take advantage of his pick-and-roll ability, the criticism goes. Nor does it allow Howard to flourish in the paint, or set up Kobe Bryant in isolation frequently enough.
Brown is standing by the offense, though, believing that in the long term, it is the best way to get the Lakers’ various weapons to fit together and help each other thrive. The Lakers are currently 15th in the league in points (97.3 per game), and rank seventh in the league in offensive efficiency. The bigger problem is the defense, which is 25th in the NBA in efficiency.
“We’re all frustrated,” Brown said after the loss to the Jazz on Wednesday night. “I’m very frustrated too with the simple fact that I just didn’t think we played the game like we talked about going into the game. We wanted to be the ones to hit first. We wanted to be the ones to play through their physicality and I thought we didn’t.”
Despite the assurances from Buss, there still should be concern on Brown’s part. Patience is understandable just five games into the year, but the Lakers have a six-game homestand that starts on Friday, and if they don’t win at least four of those games, questions about Brown’s job security will be more real. The opponents: Golden State, Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston, Brooklyn.
“You don’t start 0-3 for the first time since we’ve owned the franchise without being on top of it,” Buss said, per ESPN. “No matter what, you have to be aware. That doesn’t mean change is coming. That just means you have to be aware.”
The understanding was that it might take some time for new guys Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to mesh with the rest of the team, that chemistry would have to develop over months, not days, and that the newly-installed Princeton offense was going to require experience to master. They preached patience throughout a winless preseason, and again after an embarrassing opening night loss to the Mavericks at home.
Kobe Bryant's frustration with Lakers coach Mike Brown is growing. (AP Photo)With that in mind, team president Jim Buss, whose team was 0-3 for the first time in more than 30 years of the Buss era, quelled the notion that the Lakers need to shake up their coaching ranks in order to crack open this team’s potential. Speaking to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Buss said, “I have no problems with Mike Brown at all. He just works too hard and he’s too knowledgeable for this to be happening.
“So either the system is flawed or something’s going on. Or, like the Triangle (offense), it’s very hard to pick up and understand. I’m not a basketball mind like he is or the players are, and the players are fine with it, so I just have to be patient.”
From the beginning, observers from Magic Johnson to Charles Barkley to Jeff Van Gundy have been critical of the Lakers’ attempts to implement the Princeton system. Nash has been out with a leg injury, but when he is in the starting five, the Princeton doesn’t take advantage of his pick-and-roll ability, the criticism goes. Nor does it allow Howard to flourish in the paint, or set up Kobe Bryant in isolation frequently enough.
Brown is standing by the offense, though, believing that in the long term, it is the best way to get the Lakers’ various weapons to fit together and help each other thrive. The Lakers are currently 15th in the league in points (97.3 per game), and rank seventh in the league in offensive efficiency. The bigger problem is the defense, which is 25th in the NBA in efficiency.
“We’re all frustrated,” Brown said after the loss to the Jazz on Wednesday night. “I’m very frustrated too with the simple fact that I just didn’t think we played the game like we talked about going into the game. We wanted to be the ones to hit first. We wanted to be the ones to play through their physicality and I thought we didn’t.”
Despite the assurances from Buss, there still should be concern on Brown’s part. Patience is understandable just five games into the year, but the Lakers have a six-game homestand that starts on Friday, and if they don’t win at least four of those games, questions about Brown’s job security will be more real. The opponents: Golden State, Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston, Brooklyn.
“You don’t start 0-3 for the first time since we’ve owned the franchise without being on top of it,” Buss said, per ESPN. “No matter what, you have to be aware. That doesn’t mean change is coming. That just means you have to be aware.”
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