What’s going wrong in LA?
The loss of the greatest NBA coach of all time in Phil Jackson and replacing him with Mike Brown was always going to cause problems but after Wednesday night’s loss to the (9-29) Washington Wizards people in LA are seriously beginning to wonder what’s going wrong in Laker-Land.
Going down 106-101 to the Wizards, who hold the third worst record in the entire league, is the low point so far in the Lakers season that has seen a number of disappointments already.
While the arrival of Mike Brown and the loss of Phil Jackson’s triangle offence as well as Lamar Odom’s versatility were expected to cause some early adjustments, a 23-16 record leaves them in the middle of the pack, trailing their city rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, and in need of a kick start soon.
Lakers centre, Andrew Bynum, took some of the heat following their second straight loss in two days by admitting “I was kind of loafing around and having a good time, and it caught up.” The problems appear to lie much deeper than Bynum’s lack of effort though, as it has become apparent that some of the team’s veterans have begun questioning coach Brown’s offensive system.
Averaging their lowest point per game total since before the invention of the twenty-four second shot clock in the 1945-46 season, many wonder whether a return to the favoured triangle offence may help a team that has only won six away games all season.
A players-only meeting on February 21st following the win over the Portland Trailblazers went some way to quashing many of the team concerns but consecutive road losses to the Pistons and the Wizards have brought those trepidations about Brown’s ability back to the surface, and whether he has the X-and-O wherewithal to repair the Lakers’ offense.
Poor ball movement, an over-reliance on individual play and an inconsistent impact from the bench have been the regular critiques of the Lakers team this season and Brown recognised these as areas the team needs to improve. “It’s very simple,” Brown said following Wednesday’s loss. “In the first half, we played the right way; in the second half, we didn’t. We forced shots, and forcing shots is not a good thing for us.”
With the trade deadline only a week away the Lakers are sure to be involved in any big-move rumours until then. Former Laker great, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, moved to Twitter to express his opinion over what this LA side needs. “This @Lakers team need help-trade, trade, trade,”
The team certainly needs help from somewhere following two unexpected but deserved losses but, with their top-target, Dwight Howard, ruling out signing with the Lakers long-term, one question players might be asking themselves right now is what’s going right in LA?
