Now, let’s take a look at the leader of the Lakers, coach Mike Brown:
Mike Brown (Grade: B-): When it comes to grading coaches, there’s only one thing that matters: Wins. All things considered, the Lakers are 20-14. No, by Lakers’ standards, the team is definitely not where it would like to be at this point in the season, but there have been obstacles for the coaching staff. First, there was the lockout. This made it impossible for Mike Brown and his coaches to communicate with their players during the off-season. Then, with practically no training camp and a new offensive system, the Lakers had to (and are still having to) learn the new system on the fly. In addition to this, there has been no shortage of controversy, with the trade rumors (and the almost executed trade) involving Pau Gasol, and Metta World Peace and Andrew Bynum openly expressing their differing opinions from their coach on certain issues. After the trade involving Gasol and Lamar Odom fell through, Odom demanded to be traded. After the front office granted his wish, this left Mike Brown without a crucial piece of the Lakers from the last seven years. Odom provided so much for the Lakers: scoring, rebounding, versatile defense, hustle plays, unselfishness, great passing, etc. You name it, and Lamar Odom could do it.
Despite all of this, Mike Brown has managed to put together a very solid defensive system that throws even the most high scoring teams off of their respective games. The offensive system is admittedly a work in progress, however. But, especially in this condensed season, Brown has come to grips with the fact that the offense will be choppy for a while, and therefore stressed the importance of solid defense. If the offense is going to take time, the defense is going to be the constant for the Lakers that gives them a chance to win in his view. He seems to have the right idea.
As for the offensive struggles, some can be attributed to Brown still learning his players and some can be attributed to personnel issues (the lack of a true point guard in his more traditional offensive system). Many argue that Brown never had a sound offensive scheme in Cleveland with LeBron James, and will have a faulty system with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant. This has yet to be proven or dis proven, as there are too many variables at this point to make a sound judgement. The offense has shown signs of improvement lately, but there is still a wide gap between the high powered teams of 2009 and 2010 and this current team for whatever reason.
The biggest negative so far for this team is the inconsistency on the road. The Lakers are a miserable 5-12 on the road, and there is little explanation for this. Inconsistent rotations may have something to do with this, particularly among the bench players, but there is no way to be sure. Brown will have to somehow motivate the Lakers to play better on the road moving forward. For now, he gets a bit of slack with all things considered.
At the end of the day, with all of the variables, Mike Brown has coached this team to a 20-14 record. If the second half of the season reflects this record, then Brown will have failed in many people’s eyes. He will have to get his team playing much better for the second half of the season, especially on the road, for him to gain credibility among Lakers’ fans. The goal is always a championship when it comes to the Lakers, and regular season wins help position a team in the playoffs. The record is what it is, 20-14, and therefore warrants a grade of B-.
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