You ever have a moment where you feel that someone you looked up to is tainted, like you just were able to see them as human instead of the super human being that you thought they were? I had that moment a few games ago with the Steelers when Emmanuel Saunders had this horrible flop to buy time for the Steelers. Some of us have this image of sports greats- Barry Bonds, even though I am not in that category, or Lance Armstrong, Reggie Bush or USC. It's those moments that you saw them as pure, untouchable, that no matter what shade someone threw on them,that shade was just another point you could add to your argument about why they were great.
Y'all know, if you have been following since I first started this blog, that I am a HUGE Lakers fan. My fan "purity" for lack of a better word has been something that I have had to defend for a long time. But it is something that I recognize I end up defending for a series of reasons and not just because the Lakers happen to be my team. The Lakers in my eyes could do no wrong, win or lose I love that team. I know that Kobe's days are numbered, I've been there through his ego and running the team long enough to appreciate his growth and his leadership even though many tend to think that it is a little much. I know that the Lakers are a big market team and I get that money talks in the NBA and clearly it talks for the Lakers organization when you have a guy like Kobe to build a team around. I am not naive to think that money doesn't speak volumes, but I still have this idea that no matter what the money is there is still skill on the court that got them the championships they have and the often hated image that they have- but in my mind- Hating on greatness doesn't stop them from still being great!... Until today!
Today the Lakers front office decided to fire Coach Mike Brown. Let's look at the landscape- Mike Brown came into the Lakers Season as a head coach last season. In this change, the team showed their ASS in one of the most embarrassing moments, in a very public, botched deal to get Chris Paul from New Orleans. In this power move, the Lakers dropped a notch in my integrity ruler, due to the fallout of how they treated Odom. As if he hadn't been a part of the team, wasn't voted the the NBA's 6th Man and hadn't worked hard to do what he could for the organization. Neither here nor there. Odom finally exited stage right. The Lakers under Mike Brown for the 2011-2012 season went 41-25. They made it to the Western Conference and yes, they lost to OKC in game 5.
Great teams are not always going to be great forever- The 75 Steelers weren't going to continue their legacy forever, it took us 2 decades to make it back to the Super Bowl and another decade and some change before we actually began winning again. Even the Yankees have fallen. What about the 49ers who just started to get good again. Athletes move, organizations change their systems as their coaching changes and as their players change. You do your best to stay innovative but it's a poor expectation to think that you don't have some learning to do, or that you can keep playing the same cards and ALWAYS get the same results. Mike Brown came in after a very talented Phil Jackson, arguably one of the, if not THE best coach to grace the league. He proved that he could make a championship team no matter where he went- GOOD for PHIL!
Let's begin with the 2012-2013 season. The Lakers probably had one of the best shifts of the season- FINALLY getting rid of the dead weight in Bynum- YEAH I SAID IT.. And bringing in Steve Nash (which I am still questioning, and honestly ANY REAL Laker fan would question that move too) and Dwight Howard. Steve Nash is old. His days in the game are numbered. Dwight Howard is coming off of back surgery and coming out of a team where he was the superstar. Then you have new players, or reused players in a different fashion, but in your pocket you have a chance to be innovative and rely on the head coach and his system to change the play and rebuild a different Lakers organization when you know Kobe is on his way out too and you will have a new generation of players taking over.
But let's got to this season. Preseason the Lakers ended 1-7. Okay, duh, did you not just read the last paragraph, new team it takes time to jell. And, to expect that pre-season is where you have to prove yourself is a it's preseason and in an 82 game season you might as well have it be training camp. Then begins the regular season and as of this morning's firing the Lakers were 1-4. 5 games in and yeah, even I had to "check my face" after some sloppy games and loss after loss of my "super human." But the same factors are still at play now as they were before the season started- Nash is old, Howard is still healing and the team is still jelling. The one thing they had in common was that the team was FINALLY listening to Brown's wisdom. As late as yesterday, Kobe was saying how he respected Brown and recognized his strengths. And then all of a sudden, Brown is out. I argue that it was way too soon and here is why...
Yes I will agree that the Lakers are sucking, and it's a combination of things, but coaching is not the only factor. But, you just got a squad together. Even if they are the best of the best, it still takes time for the players to adjust and get into their rhythm as a team- case in point Miami two seasons ago. Regardless of whether or not they lost all through the Preseason- the point is that you learn to be a team together. That takes patience. You are also having to teach a different level of basics, you have to teach players to be innovative. I mean let's be real the LakeShow is getting old so you have to deal with the players changing bodies AND a whole new team. And I get it he had a year and still didn't produce- part of this could be a fault on his end, don't take off more than you can chew.. the Lakers are the Lakers for a reason don't jump in the ocean if you aren't confident you can't catch a wave. But in Mike's defense, the Lakers players ARE NOT the easiest to manage. You have to win their respect (and by their I mean Kobe).
But all that aside, this is my fundamental issue with the firing of Mike Brown- the organization. People hate on the Lakers because they think we are a bunch of money chasers-- with the Chris Paul botch, yeah I can see that among other reasons where I might give them credit for the thought. But in this moment, WE (I'll say this as a fan, because right or wrong I still stick to my team) showed that our ego was bruised. We showed our ass like a sorry bunch of punks. We are the LAKERS!! one of, if not the greatest organization in NBA history. It doesn't mean that we are going to be great every season, it doesn't mean that we aren't going to have to learn to change and adjust to the changes in the league. It doesn't mean that sometimes we have to change direction as an organization and deal with the new systems etc. I don't think Mike Brown was the worst. I do think Mike Brown had some horrible moments, but I also think that Mike Brown deserved a little more time to get his system going. I mean let's be realistic 5 games in an 82 game season. You couldn't have waited until game 8 or until the end of the next 6 games when we are home each game. You couldn't have waited until December? I feel it was a bad call, For Shame Lakers, For Shame. In my opinion the organization just wasted a great opportunity to be leaders in the big market league and be innovative. Changing the way that they played and adapting to the new youth in the league today. Instead, greatness was tainted.
That's all she wrote!
That's all she wrote!
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