Coach Mike Brown has been under fire (well, he’s been under fire by the fans from the start) because of the Lakers’ slow start. And it got even hotter after the Lakers turned in another lackluster performance last night when they lost to the Utah Jazz. The Lakers are now 1-4 and there have been rumors about Brown getting the axe soon. Executive Vice-President Jim Buss has already showed support yesterday.
And Buss will continue to stand by his guy, according to a column by Ramona Shelburne from ESPN L.A.
“I have no problems with Mike Brown at all,” Buss said. “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, 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.”
I do find that “works too hard” comment a little interesting. Mike Brown does some over-coaching when the solution doesn’t seem to be anything complicated. He still has trouble with some rotations when the Lakers have a legitimate back-up for each position. For instance, he has shuffled Antawn Jamison, Metta World Peace, and Devin Ebanks around, and isn’t putting them into a position where they can succeed.
In any case, if they continue to lose games, Buss may have to make some changes. It seems like even Kobe Bryant is losing his patience a little bit.
The Lakers have a six-game homestand coming up. That starts tomorrow night against the Golden State Warriors.
