Might I add, the most telling quote that I heard last night after the game was Magic Johnson. We all know Magic spoke out in the Denver series saying the Mike Brown would get fired if we lost that series, and it was kind of like, “ok Magic. Chill.” Then yesterday he said this, and it was like he was speaking what all of us are thinking:

Everybody thinks I hit on coach Mike Brown. I like him, I really do. But he’s not a great in-game adjustment coach like a Phil Jackson or Pat Riely. … The Lakers never made any adjustments.

The biggest offense in Game 4 was Mike setting Pau up 20 feet away from the basket, setting picks for Steve Blake instead of down on the block. I repeat, setting picks for Steve Blake (more on this later). Everyone knows that the Lakers aren’t a p&r team. They don’t run it very well, nor do they even defend it very well.

Not to mention that the guards couldn’t even get the ball in to Andrew Bynum, who was being fronted. Not quite sure how NBA guards can’t get the ball in to a man on the post being fronted, and I really am not sure why Mike Brown doesn’t have the players swing the ball and set Bynum up on the opposite side.

As for the Steve Blake issue, why was he on the court in the fourth?? I understand you have rotations, and in late-game situations those are usually set, but Ramon Sessions was clearly the better guard for the Lakers. Early in Game 4 he routinely broke down the defense of the Thunder and got to the basket, either setting up a easy dunk/lay-up or getting one himself. Furthermore, if the Lakers ARE going to run a pick-and-roll with Pau, it’s Sessions who you should run it with, not Blake.

I won’t entirely rag on Mike Brown, because his hybrid defense worked very well against the Thunder in the first 3 quarters. But the Thunder still ended up with over 100 points, the Lakers had a very poor offensive 4th quarter, and a moral victory simply isn’t enough.

It’ll be interesting to see what adjustments Brown comes up with in a very important Game 5. I actually feel (in my heart, not in my head) that if the Lakers can somehow win Game 5, they can win the series. Silly me. Right?

Possibly the only thing more entertaining than the last minutes of the Lakers - Dallas game was seeing Kobe “coach” the Lakers. Even sitting in the “Phil Jackson” chair. This only makes me wonder, what is it exactly that the Lakers are paying Mike Brown to do?

Pics from jose303.

Is Mike Brown to blame for the Lakers loss tonight?

Maybe not as much as Kobe’s 7-25 shooting night. Or Russell Westbrook’s 30 points in the second half. Or the Lakers being outrebounded, giving up more assists, and being blocked 12 times. It’s just depressing (and maddening) to see the Lakers lose games that they could win.

The players aren’t playing up to their potential at times. But then again, neither is the coaching. A post on LakersGround.net pretty much sums up the feelings of most Laker fans that I know, including myself:

I tried to stay away from all of the Brown bashing, but he has officially lost me now. 

He coaches like every day is his first day and he is trying to figure out what he has on the roster. His lineups defy reason. It’s just a mish-mash of names that he hopes will produce whatever it is he is trying to accomplish. 

Of course the talent is not high outside of the Big 3 and Sessions, but he has done nothing to put the role guys in position to succeed. Their minutes are unknown (Murphy, McRob), jobs change on the fly (Blake is a starting PG, backup PG, backup SG all within a week) and other guys who might contribute a bit are discarded (Glock and Hill). 

MB just comes off as utterly clueless about what to do with this team. (source)

Again though, this isn’t all of Brown’s fault. Bynum’s demeanor after being an All-Star has been immature, not participating in huddles, laughing at refs, high-fiving fans. Kobe’s been shooting with no regard, despite field goal %’s closer to my age than my dad’s.

A friend of mine says our bench isn’t deep enough. I say that it could be. Matt Barnes has been playing very consistent ball, which has been largely unrecognized. Andrew Goudelock is a nice 3-pt. threat off the bench if we give him playing time. Jordan Hill is a young, active big man, who when paired with McRoberts can wreak havoc with their energy on the boards. Steve Blake has proven he can be effective 15, 20 minutes a game. Ebanks as a SG/SF defensively.

I know the season is shortened and everything is rushed and whatever other excuse you may have, but it’s laughable for Brown to still not have effective rotations. Hell, I’m not even sure there are set rotations in Mike Brown’s gameplan.

All in all, I’m interested in knowing what you all think is the Lakers most glaring problem going into the final month of the season. Mike Brown’s coaching? Kobe’s horrible shot selection? Bad offensive execution? Anything else?

Bruh. 3-20.

Mike Brown was suspended 1 game and fined $25,000 today for “making contact with an official and not leaving the court in a timely manner,” during Saturday’s game with the Jazz. He’ll serve his suspension tonight while the Lakers play the 76ers.

While we’re on this topic, can we also discuss how bad the officiating has been this season, league-wide?

Mike Brown on Gilbert Arenas

Yo Mitch … make this happen, nao.

gotemcoach:

“I’m very impressed with him.  Very impressed.  I’m not going to BS you.  He’s very detail-oriented.  His practices are very methodical in nature.  He goes from one thing to the next thing.  You know, he’s punching a clock, and it’s very high energy.  It’s a high motor type of practice, a physical practice, a competitive practice, and I like it.”

“I really want to win for him in the worst way, because I see how much he works and I see how much he wants it.  I hear the criticism he takes, and I believe it to be unwarranted. It makes me want to work even harder than I already am.”

- Kobe Bryant on Mike Brown

@gotem_coach

Derek Fisher, doing the little things, outhustling two defenders.

Little has been said about D-Fish’s game this season. He’s been really consistent, and while I know most LA fans generally want a more flashy point guard, there’s nothing wrong with Fisher. Having CP3 certainly didn’t help the Clippers last night, Derrick Rose still burnt him … repeatedly. As long as Fisher hits open shots and directs the offense, we’ll be alright.

Mike Brown even said himself, “When I took the job, everybody told me, well, [Derek Fisher] can’t guard opposing point guards anymore. My philosophy has [always] been, there’s nobody in my opinion that can guard an NBA starting point guard one on one. You can’t do that. If you understand where your help is going to be and you understand defensive positioning, in my opinion anybody can guard anybody.”

Mike Brown calling out KB24 for not contesting shots.

I like it.