I know, I know. It could have been too soon and a knee jerk reaction to a bad start. I know that the gelling process would need more time with the new cast of stars. The injury to Nash could have been the worst stroke of bad luck at the worse time after an 0 - 8 preseason. But, there were some ugly trends on the floor that could not be ignored on both sides of the court. It was apparent to me the Brown's shortcomings came down to strength and weakness analysis that made him incapable of adapting.
The easy trap to fall into is feeling blessed with all of the All Star talent that the Lakers possess. So the strengths are pretty much obvious on the offensive potential. You would even think that it would be a cinch with Howard in the middle and a coach known for his defensive acumen to be solid on defense. But, on the defensive end, Brown did not consider the shortcomings of his players.
Brown from my observation is a man to man stickler. There are many coaches out there that don't consider any other defense besides man to man. With younger, quicker, and more athletic players, that sole strategy might serve you well. But what happens when a key part of your perimeter defense is unable to adequately defend guards like C. Paul, R Westbrook, T Parker. G Dragic and many others? In short, too few coaches don't integrate zone defense or other help defensive strategies to help their over-matched players. Do you think that the Mavs would have beaten the Heat without blending in some zone defense against that more athletically gifted team? It's well known how Carlisle's use of zone defense had perplexed the Heat at times. Scott Brooks' value as a coach went down for me last year as he did not bother to try to throw in some zone. Didn't he see any tape from the Mavs series from the previous year?
Penetration, and especially dribble penetration is the first thing the breaks down a defense. Why would you leave challenged defenders like Steve Nash or Steve Blake on an island against quicker players? This situation gets worse against screen and rolls where the help defender doesn't defend it right. If Brown had done some weakness analysis, he would have known that his team's perimeter defense is a weakness and is being targeted by opponents. This highlights Brown's lack of adjustments and unwillingness to play the chess match. Unwillingness to play chess in the coaching profession often leads to disappointments and unemployment.
Offensively, I understand Brown's desires to incorporate the Princeton offense. But while it is obvious that the team hasn't fully grasped the offense, why not try to be more opportunistic with fast breaks to get easy baskets? Brown was stuck in last year's mentality of solely being a half court team. With the likes of the slow footed Bynum and Fisher, pushing the ball was less of an option. If Brown had bothered to do some strength analysis, he would have opted to push the ball more with Nash and Howard. Don't let Nash's age fool ya. He can still be highly effective on the fast break. Other intangibles that come along with fast break points include energy for the team and fans with the conversion of layups and dunks. Solely walking the ball up and getting into a confusing half court offense that generates a lot of turnovers is a low energy passive approach. This is doubly important when it comes to the Lakers anemic bench so far. Let those guys loose on the break and get them some easy baskets.
So to the next Lakers coach, please keep these tidbits in mind:
1. The point guard rotation is not full of solid defenders where opponents often attack your perimeter defense. Mixing in occasional zone will reduce penetration the compromises the team defense. An added perk includes keeping legs (especially those older ones) fresher since chasing players around the floor is not required.
2. Push the ball and get the fast break points as you are better tooled to push the ball. It's well know that shots start dropping easier once players see the ball go through the basket that can help their perimeter shots go down.
3. Encourage the 2nd unit more to push the ball as their half court execution might not be as effective as the 1st unit's.
4. Play the chess game especially against stronger competition with stellar coaches.
