If the Lakers fizzle out as they have for two consecutive seasons, there will be plenty of finger-pointing to go around. But you can rest assured, players like Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash have pretty airtight job security. It's Brown who is truly on the hot seat.
The expectations for this Lakers team to succeed are as high as any in recent memory. Ask Jim and Jerry Buss, and they'd probably tell you they wouldn't want it any other way.
Brown is coaching one of the most iconic franchises in NBA history with four future Hall of Fame starters that any team in the league would love to have. Yet, he must also sense the far-reaching pressure from the spoiled fans who expect nothing less than a trip to the Finals.
If someone had told Brown in late May that he'd be starting his second season at the helm with Steve Nash and Dwight Howard under contract, he probably would have laughed and asked what you were smoking. It's still rather surreal to realize that Nash, Howard, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant all play on the same team.
Brown was harshly criticized in many circles after last season's second-round playoff debacle against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke suggested that he might not have the "right stuff" to be coach of the Lakers.
"Kinda. Sorta. Not really. Not yet. If you had to evaluate Brown's first Lakers season, those six words work about as well as any. He touched on inspiration, flirted with resonance, but never quite found a grip that the Lakers will insist grow tighter next season — or else."
Well, next season is upon us, and that grip is as tight as a vise. The rumblings, ever-present as the Lakers dropped their sixth straig...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
