Suddenly, the Lakers are in trouble and Mike Brown is left, squinting open-mouthed at his job prospects. While cooler heads would suggest that L.A. fans calm down, there is the pervading sense that Brown is on a warming seat.
In the background, soon to possibly be the foreground, are the Clippers.
I would argue that this particular roster is championship contender-worthy—just not with this particular coach. Disagree if you will, but do so after mulling the hypothetical of, "What if Tom Thibodeau coached this Clippers team?"
The two teams present an interesting contrast because it seems to be a battle between slightly undervalued talent and slightly overvalued talent.
The Lakers, great as this collection of Hall of Famers sounds, are not quite what they were made out to be.
The Lakers are a contender until proven otherwise, but the expectations are a little too high, and it's resulting in a bit too much harshness in Mike Brown's direction. "Four Hall of Famers" is a great selling point, but the situation could easily be reframed as, "Two guys who should be playing center, two guys who dominate the ball and a hideous, disgusting bench."
Look at Mike Brown's situation and have some sympathy, as ridiculous as that might sound.
He has inherited a mediocre defensive cast, one that Dwight Howard was supposed to single-handedly save. But, Dwight Howard is not healthy right now, and he's a step too slow to compensate for everybody else.
Flanking Dwight Howard is a fantastic center in Pau Gasol, but the seven-foot big man is ill equipped to guard modern, athletic, three-point shooting power forwards. Pau is also a more effective offensive player closer to the rim.
In this roster, he's forced to sacrifice much of his low-block skill.
In the backcourt, Steve Nash is not what he once was. He's 38 years old after all, and t...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
