After 5 games, Mike Brown was officially dismissed as the LA
Lakers head coach. As we all know, the Lakers stocked up their lineup this year
by acquiring 2 all stars in Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, hoping to contend for another championship yet they started the
season 1-4 prior to Brown’s firing.
Lakers fans expected Phil Jackson, the multi-titled mentor
to return for another stint as a head coach for the most lovable franchise in
the NBA. It was an expected move considering that Jackson was
vacant and Kobe Bryant’s endorsement for Phil to return.
Awww… Too bad Laker fans.
Enter Mike D’Antoni.
Yes, it’s another Mike at the helm of the Lakers team.
One more Mike… this time Lakers fan are hoping for a different result.
Mike D’Antoni was hired by the Lakers as their head coach,
reuniting him with his former MVP in Steve Nash. D’Antoni’s philosophy of
basketball could be intriguing knowing his offense has been simple. Run, run
and run. Could his offensive mindset replace the once famous triangle offense
of Phil Jackson and the ridiculous “Princeton offense” of Mike Brown?
Another idea that made me wonder is how D’Antoni can handle
his players? During his tenure in Phoenix, he had Stoudamire and Nash as his
main players. In New York, he had Stoudamire again and Carmelo Anthony. This
time around, can he handle not one, not two but four all stars in one team? To
add to insult, the Lakers bench/supporting players are atrocious.
Kobe Bryant has been his old self, selfishly saying that
Lakers is his team. Howard has been the same, the imposing big man under the block with a free throw accuracy more pathetic than Shaq. Gasol remains the finesse big man and Nash, a two time MVP, has been passive and has
been giving the rock to Bryant to make the selfish player happy. This all could change once D’Antoni change
the regimen of the team.
The prospect of Lakers scoring more than 100 points in a
single game remains in doubt. Another fact that D’Antoni’s offensive game plan
requires a solid outside shooter that he once have in Joe Johnson(Phoenix) and
JR Smith(New York), something that Lakers doesn’t have. D’Antoni also loves to play
small, which will be impossible in Lakers knowing they have Gasol and Howard.
For me, I’m ecstatic to see how D’Antoni changes the Lakers.
Whether it’s better or worst, that remains to be seen. I can’t wait to see how
D’Antoni handle the ego of Bryant and the rest of his teammates. How he can
pursue Howard and Gasol to run on a fastbreak remains a clue. It’s also a
challenge how he can ignite the play of their top reserves in Jordan Hill,
Antawn Jamison and Steve Blake,
Laker fans,this is the calm after the storm. Your villain in
Mike Brown has been fired and his Princeton offense has been dumped. In comes
your hopeful savior, Mike D’Antoni with his up-tempo offense.
If D’Antoni didn’t work out, Lakers might need a Mike
Reaport to coach them(kidding) since they are fond of Mike’s this year.
As what Jerry Buss and the rest of the Lakers fans want to
see, let’s get the “SHOWTIME” going.
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