Report: Mike Brown has Been Fired by the Lakers

Let’s get one thing straight: I was never in favor of hiring Mike Brown as the coach for the Lakers last season. His career regular season record is impeccable, of course, but most of that was on the merit of having LeBron James on his team and playing in the Eastern Conference. While Brown was and still is an excellent defensive coach, but there was always much to be desired offensively. The simplicity of his system was something that doomed his Cavaliers and Lakers come playoff time, when competition played smarter to the simple isolation based system he would run with James and Kobe Bryant. This is the main reason he brought in Eddie Jordan to be his assistant and run with the Princeton Offense.

I’m also not against firing him now, although firing him 5 games into the season would be the NFL equivalent of being fired during the 2 minute warning of the first game. It’s just so unorthodox and almost never seen at any level of professional sports. That being said, hiring Brown was never a good option for the personnel L.A. had, but firing him so early might be a mistake by Los Angeles. Seeing as how this team is relatively new to playing with each other, there was so many acquisitions during the off season that the team never really had a chance to “gel”, all while changing to a new offensive system. All of this will reset when they bring in a new head coach, unless it’s Phil Jackson, who coincidentally canceled being the key note speaker at the Schwab Advisor Services IMPACT conference in Chicago next week, the whole squad will have to learn a completely new offensive system in short time, or risk losing even more games to start the season.

The coaches who are available are: 
Jerry Sloan: Known for the brutally efficient pick and roll run by John Stockton and Karl Malone, Sloan has had major NBA success, and fell just short of the NBA championship two years in a row, courtesy of Michael Jordan. Steve Nash and Dwight Howard should both be crossing their fingers and hoping Mitch Kupchak brings in Sloan, as Nash and Howard would likely replicate the things done by Stockton and Malone. This, if Phil Jackson isn’t returning, would be my ideal choice to coach this squad.

·         Nate McMillan: McMillan’s track record is nowhere near as good as Sloan’s, however he plays a very smooth, team first style of basketball centered around a good passing shooting guard and either a dominant finisher in the paint, or an excellent shooter from a big man, all three of which L.A. has with Bryant, Howard and Pau Gasol. McMillan is also known for his defensive approach to the game.

·         Brian Shaw: Known user of the Triangle offense, he was an assistant coach to Phil Jackson, as well as having played under him during the 2000-2002 ShaKobe three peat. Shaw has no previous experience working as a head coach, however, the important players on the team know how to run the Triangle, and can exploit it efficiently.

·         Stan Van Gundy: Out of the question at this point because of big man Dwight Howard. His offensive system is similar to Brown’s, except it works from the inside-out, and ensures an open shot either for Howard, or his 3 point specialists.

If the Lakers don’t get a coach with a known track record of success, things might get ugly in the City of Angels.  Right now, the best realistic candidate is Jerry Sloan; however both McMillan and Brian Shaw could realistically work with the Lakers. 

Steve Blake Has Stepped Up in Steve Nash's Absence

I’m sure everyone knew Steve Blake was going to be an important role player off of the bench for Los Angeles; what with Steve Nash never having played more than 32 minutes a game in his career. And with Nash out for what looks like a week (although other reports have said a month), Blake was going to be instrumental in L.A’s plans to start off well this season. Blake has been underwhelming in his first two seasons with the team compared to how well he was doing with in his stint with Portland.

With Mike Brown and assistant Eddie Jordan implementing the Princeton Offense this summer, it looked like Blake was going to have to work hard, or risk losing his job to Darius Morris or Chris Duhon. So far, Blake has not disappointed. In just 4 games this season, Blake has managed to equal his Offensive Win Share from last season, recording a good 0.2 to start the season. He had 0.2 OWS in 53 games last year, which was one of the lowest in the league for players that participated in 50+ games. At this pace, Blake will finish with a tremendous 4 OWS in 82 games. His offensive rating (an estimate of points produced by the team per 100 possessions when the player is on the court) is a sky high 119. His true shooting percentage (a tool used to measure shooting efficiency taking into account 2-point field goals, 3-point field goals and free throws) is a ridiculously high 62.2%.

The Princeton Offense clearly agrees with Blake, as he keeps the offense running smoothly and efficiently around star players Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. While his PER rating is a below average 12 (mainly because he’s shooting 43.8% in total field goal percentage), it’s still much higher than the past two seasons in Los Angeles, which were 7.5 and 8.5 respectively. Blake has been everything the Lakers have needed at the point guard position, more so than All-Star Steve Nash has been so far this year, as he really seems to be working hard to keep his job. It is a very small sample size, but he has been one of the only players off the bench to actually do his job. If Blake can continue this pace this season, the Lakers have a chance to go far into the playoffs. 

In unrelated news, Steve Blake was fined 25,000 dollars by the league for some...lets go with colorful language directed at a fan during last Friday's game against the Clippers.

Lakers Dominate Pistons, Win 108-79

On Steve Nash’s first missed game since an MRI revealed a small fracture in his leg, the Los Angeles Lakers put it all together in what was an incredibly synchronized performance from just about everybody on the team. The Princeton Offense was run perfectly by Steve Blake, as he finished with 6 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. The starters shot a terrific 58.1% from the floor, with Howard completely dominating Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond to the tune of 28 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Of the 32 baskets from the starting unit, 20 of them were assisted on, the majority coming from Kobe Bryant and his stellar 15 point, 8 assist, 7 rebound night. Steve Blake harassed opposing point guard Brandon Knight into 5 turnovers.

Metta World Peace looked somewhat confused in between his flashes of brilliance tonight; he had two turnovers and looked somewhat lost to start the game, but he rebounded and finished with a stellar 7-11 shooting from the floor and 18 total points, more proof that every single thing was going right for Los Angeles tonight. The Lakers, for the first time in the season, had less turnovers than their opponents, and while the final margin is very slim (17 T.O. for Detroit, 15 for LAL), the starters completely out played, out hustled, and out smarted their opponents tonight. It helps, of course, when the whole Laker team shoots 51% from the floor (thank you, Princeton Offense!). It also helps to have nearly double the points scored in the paint than the opponent (34 for Det, 56 for L.A.) Los Angeles finally played up their ability, and gave Howard the Shaquille O’Neal treatment for tonight, making him the No. 1 option offensively despite having Kobe Bryant on the same team. Howard, of course, delivered tonight, being extremely efficient offensively, hitting 12-14 shots from the floor, and staying out of foul trouble, which is something he had failed to do in the first three games. Overall, Los Angeles completely dominated Detroit from tip off by playing smart, selfless basketball, playing excellent defense, and limiting the turnovers when the game really mattered. This is the Lakers we all expected in game one, and if they can play as smart as tonight, the rest of the league has some long nights of scouting ahead of them. 

Kobe Bryant drops 40, Lakers lose 105-95

Kobe Bryant scored 40 points vs. the Clippers

The Lakers fell to old demons tonight against the Clippers. Los Angeles was averaging 19 turnovers per game coming into this contest; they turned the ball over 20 times. Los Angeles was averaging 60% from the free throw line; they shot 71.4% tonight, courtesy of legendary Laker Kobe Bryant who finished 10-10 from the line. The Lakers were coming into this game off of a terrible 3^rd quarter meltdown to the Trailblazers, and were looking to rebound without All-Star point guard Steve Nash.

The Lakers managed to hang around for the majority of the game; however it’s been the same old song and dance for the 2012 Lakers; too many turnovers to a team who has far superior speed and athleticism, too many missed free throws from everyone (especially Dwight Howard), not enough defense being played on pick and rolls. The Lakers once again shot 50% from the floor, but wasted so many opportunities to get back into this game, mostly from the charity stripe. Steve Blake did an admirable job filling in for Steve Nash, however the Lakers were forced to go to 2^nd year point guard Darius Morris as the first option at point guard off of the bench. Morris had an alright game by any standard as he scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting; however the bench play continues to be absolutely wrenched.  The Clippers bench outscored the Lakers bench 46-16, as the Clippers starters got long enough breathers to come back in and continue to be as dynamic as possible. No Clipper starter logged in over 33 minutes in tonight’s game as the bench completely dominated the Lakers’ 2^nd unit. 

As much as Kobe Bryant would like to think that he can put the team on his back; he also needs some help from the rest of the starters. Dwight Howard, plagued by foul trouble all game long, only finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds. His 5 blocks in tonight’s game represent an improvement over his 1 block in the last game. Pau Gasol was just not on his offensive game tonight; he finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds. My last gripe about this game: It is never OK to have Metta World Peace take more shots than both Howard and Gasol. World Peace took 10 shots, only made 3 of them as he had another terrible game plagued by foul trouble (5) and rarely did he make a good offensive play. And, of course, Kobe Bryant saves this game from being a complete dud. His ridiculous efficiency continues this season as he shot 14-23 from the field tonight, 10-10 from the charity stripe, and hauled in 6 rebounds on his way to his 113^th 40 point game in his career. Bryant is 35-67 from the field in the Princeton Offense, a ridiculous percentage of 61.4%. If the Lakers could stop giving the ball away like candy on Halloween, Bryant’s efforts wouldn’t go to waste every night. 

Lakers Turn the Ball Over 25 Times; Fall to Blazers 116-106

The Los Angeles Lakers played much differently tonight; they pushed the tempo, fed the ball to the Dwight Howard, and most importantly, hit their free throws. However, the Lakers committed a season-high 25 turnovers as the Blazers ran away with this contest at the end of the 3^rd and beginning of the 4^th quarter largely on a 24-7 run.

The whole bench played confused, lost and generally terrible, except for Steve Blake, who did a very good job defensively on Damian Lillard, and generally ran the offense with smoothness. Blake played 28 minutes due to Steve Nash injuring his left leg during the second quarter. He attempted to come back after a time out, but couldn’t put much weight on to it; he was ruled out for the game. Despite the turnovers, the Lakers stayed in the game with great efforts from Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant, who channeled their inner Shaq-Kobe, Super-Mamba combo for this game vs. the Blazers as both scored 30 or more points, however both were also plagued with foul trouble as they had 5 fouls a-piece. Bryant was making mistake after mistake with the ball as he had a season-high and team high seven turnovers. The Blazers pushed the tempo and managed to get 28 very easy points off of turnovers, combined with 10 offensive rebounds largely leading to easy points in the paint and with their 45% (9-20) shooting from deep, and you can easily see why they scored 116 points.

 Los Angeles looked helpless against the pick and roll in the first half, as Damian Lillard had his way with Steve Nash and scored the majority of his 23 points against him in the first half. Steve Blake managed to stop some of the bleeding defensively, and pressured Lillard into a couple of mistakes that helped keep the Lakers in it. Ultimately, turnovers from Bryant and Metta World Peace kept giving the Blazers easy points in transition, and keeping the Lakers from making up any ground. Foul trouble plagued the Lakers; Pau Gasol had 3, Bryant had 5, Howard had 5, World Peace fouled out; the only starter that wasn’t in foul trouble was Steve Nash, and for obvious reasons. Los Angeles played a sloppy game all over the court, except in offensive execution; they shot 50% from the floor, and had 21 assists to the 36 baskets made and the assists coming from everywhere: Howard had 5, Nash had 4, Bryant had 3, Gasol had 2, even World Peace was getting into the passing action and also contributed 2 assists.

Los Angeles had another good offensive night; ultimately, turnovers and poor defense dooms the Lakers against the Blazers, wasting an excellent game from its dynamic duo in Dwight Howard, who finished with 33 points on 9-15 shooting (15-19 from the charity stripe!), 14 rebounds and 5 assists and Kobe Bryant who chipped in with 30 points and 6 rebounds of his own, while shooting 50% from the floor (10-20) as LA falls to 0-2 for the second season in a row under head coach Mike Brown. 

Los Angeles Lakers @ Portland Trailblazers, October 31st, 2012

The Trail Blazers begin their season at home Wednesday night against a Lakers team seeking to avoid a second straight 0-2 start.

Portland went 28-38 last season, after averaging 50.7 wins over its previous three seasons when it appeared to be a team on the rise. Coach Nate McMillan was fired during last year's campaign and the roster has been overhauled along with a new general manager in Neil Olshey and new coach in Terry Stotts.

All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge, forward Nicolas Batum and guard Wesley Matthews are the mainstays with new blood brought in that includes first-round picks Damian Lillard, a point guard drafted 6^th overall, and Meyers Leonard, a center drafted 11^th overall.

While Portland's new faces are unproven, the same cannot be said for those with Los Angeles. With Dwight Howard and Steve Nash on board, the Lakers are among the favorites as they seek the franchise's 17th championship.

Los Angeles, however, opened with a surprising 99-91 home loss to Dallas on Tuesday, where Los Angeles missed more free throws than Dallas attempted, and neither Howard nor Nash excelled in their team debuts.

Howard had 19 points and 10 rebounds while missing 11 of 14 free throws before fouling out with 2:02 to play. Nash managed just seven points and four assists with seemingly little to do in the Lakers' new offensive scheme. Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 23 points and 13 rebounds while Kobe Bryant scored a wonderfully efficient 22 (11-14 shooting) while playing on an injured right foot. The offense was smooth last night, as it created fairly easy opportunities that the Lakers didn’t convert (especially free throws).

There are a few minor injuries on the Lakers’ side of things; Kobe Bryant is listed as day to day with his injured right foot and ankle, but he still played last night and is expected to play tonight. Backup center Jordan Hill is also listed as day to day with a bulging disk he suffered early in the preseason, he will also play. On Portland’s side, backup point guard Ronnie Price is out for tonight’s contest.

Position	Lakers	Trailblazers
Point Guard	Steve Nash	Damian Lillard
Shooting Guard	Kobe Bryant	Wesley Matthews
Small Forward	Metta World Peace	Nicolas Batum
Power Forward	Pau Gasol	LaMarcus Aldrige
Center	Dwight Howard	J.J. Hickson

Lakers Falter at the Line, Fall to Dallas 99-91

You can’t win them all. It’s a simple, yet very true phrase that applies to all North American sports (except you, 1972 Dolphins). The Lakers came out of an 0-8 preseason to a very hyped up and anticipated regular season opener against the Dallas Mavericks without power forward Dirk Nowitzki or center Chris Kaman. With a starting lineup of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, I’m sure everyone outside of Dallas thought the Lakers take this in a landslide. Alas, here we are with Dallas winning in Los Angeles 99-91.

What went wrong for L.A.? Plenty of things went wrong for Los Angeles, starting with free throws; the Lakers took 13 more free throws than the Mavericks, however, Dallas ended up making two more than Los Angeles. That’s right, out of a whopping 31 free throws, L.A. only manages to make 12; while Dallas made 14 out of 18 free throws. That is unacceptable. What is also amazing: No backcourt player on the Lakers took a single free throw; Howard took 14 free throws (nearly half of L.A.’s total free throw count), Jordan Hill took 6 free throws, only making 1. Pau Gasol had a respectable percentage, as he made 6 of 8 free throws. Antawn Jamison made 1 of 1 to complete an And-1 play, and Metta World Peace only made 1 of 2.

Dallas spent most of its time stopping Howard from getting easy put back dunks, effectively applying the Hack-a-Shaq strategy to perfection as Howard went on to make only 3 of 14 from the charity stripe. The Lakers just couldn’t stop the pick and roll Dallas was running, and that’s without the possibility of it becoming a pick and pop (a play that’s very common and hard to stop with Dirk on the floor). Steve Nash is still the below average defender we all know as Darren Collison ate him alive tonight to the tune of 17 points on 8-12 shooting, and Howard seems to have been off on his timing; he only had one block tonight, and allowed countless shots to go uncontested in the paint.

Los Angeles allowed too many rebounds to Dallas. On paper, it doesn’t look bad, as L.A. hauled in 46 rebounds to Dallas’ 40, but when you realize the Lakers have Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, while Dallas is missing its twin 7 footers, then you know you have a problem. LA looked generally slower than Dallas, and played with less enthusiasm than the Mavs, a problem common with the late 2000’s, Kobe Bryant led Lakers.

Not all is dark in Laker land. Of the team’s 38 field goals, 24 of them were assisted, and not just by Nash, who only had four, but by the whole team, who really seem to be buying into assistant coach Eddie Jordan’s Princeton Offense. It seems the Princeton Offense is making things easier for the team offensively as Los Angeles shot 49.4% from the floor and the offense generally looked fluid and efficient. My only complaint tonight would be the lack of fast break points for the Lakers; after every rebound, Los Angeles would slowly job up the court instead of pushing the tempo with Nash (which is his bread and butter after the pick and roll) to get even easier shots early in the shot clock. Dwight Howard also got too few touches in the post, as most of his shots came off of offensive rebounds and last second passes to him to try to clean up LA’s offensive mistakes. This especially bothered me because Dallas had the much smaller Elton Brand on Howard for most of the night; nonetheless, Howard still managed to score 19 points despite only 12 shot attempts, and very few offensive possessions in which he was the focus. The brightest spot for Los Angeles was the spectacular Kobe Bryant, who is really feeding off of the Princeton Offense to make his own offense efficient and effective; Bryant shot 11-14 from the floor, only forcing up 1 shot (which he made in spectacular fashion over Vince Carter), and forcing zero unnecessary three pointers. 

Steve Nash is the Key to the Lakers Championship Hopes

Steve Nash probably never thought he would be playing with the rival Los Angeles Lakers. After spending his whole career with the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, I’m sure Nash has held a certain disdain for the franchise, especially with all of the playoff battles between his Suns and the Kobe Bryant led Lakers in the mid 2000’s and then again in 2010. This off season, Nash was a free agent looking for a new home. Everyone knew the Lakers had their eye on the 38 year old point guard, but nobody ever thought Nash would even consider Los Angeles to be his new home; most of the attention was going toward the New York Knicks and their run and gun style offense, and up north to his home country with the Toronto Raptors. On top of those things, both of those teams had something that the Lakers did not: Money to spend; Nash was offered 3 years and 36 million from both teams, however Nash had decided that being close to his children was the best option for him (not to mention an incredible opportunity to win an NBA championship) and told the Suns Front Office to make a deal with the Lakers. Seeing as how the season will start tomorrow, I think it’s time to take an extensive look at the Lakers’ new point guard.

Nash might have the highest offensive basketball I.Q. in the NBA. His court vision is rivaled only by Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics and his passing ability is tops in the League. His 6’3’’ frame helps him see over the top of his defender to identify passing lanes and read the defense. While his listed 185 pound frame is a liability on the defensive end, especially when he’s forced to switch onto shooting guards or other taller, stronger opponents, on the offensive end, it’s a blessing; His end to end speed is middle of the pack for point guards, but due to his weight, he is able to keep his quickness in short distances, which outstanding and helps him utilize screens to their full potential. Nash is the master of the pick and roll offense; nobody has been this good at running it since John Stockton in Utah. Nash is a very gifted offensive player in nearly every aspect. One of the most efficient perimeter players in NBA history, Nash’s offensive game is a post-game away from being the most complete offense ever witnessed. Teams cannot run any kind of defense aimed at stopping Nash because even if you keep him off of the board, he knows how to beat you by passing the ball. Jordan rules or double-teams would be especially ineffective against him because of his court vision and surgeon-like precision when passing the ball.

Steve Nash is the most important offensive player on the court on any given night because he brings so much to the table. He’s not a typical scorer like teammate Kobe Bryant, and he’s not strictly a point guard with no range on his jumper like Rondo. Nash is something in between those two extremes; he can score with the best of them from anywhere past the half court line and do it with efficiency from any range, all while keeping his teammates involved and not turning them into spectators (a problem Bryant had with the mid 2000’s Lakers).

Nash has slowly added more and more to his offensive game. He’s one of the best shooters in the game: Last season, Nash shot 53.2% from the floor, and his lowest percentage from any range was 39% from 3 point range. He shot over 53.7% from every range inside of the 3 point line except for 10-15 feet, where he still shot an efficient 49.5%. His 74% shooting at the rim was one of the highest in the league, even higher than teammate (and center) Dwight Howard.

He’s one of five players to be a part of the 50/40/90 club (50% from the field/40% from 3 point range/90% from the charity stripe), which is some very elite company as this club includes Reggie Miller, Larry Bird, Mark Price and Dirk Nowitzki, and has had the most seasons being a part of it with 4. The main reason Nash is never in the conversation for best player in the NBA is his defense; Nash is one of the worst players in this aspect and is one of the only star players (and MVP’s) ever to score a negative Defensive Win Share over a full season; Nash has never had a 2 or higher DWS except for his MVP winning season in 2006. This is offset by his spectacular offense, of course; however he has cost his teams more than a few victories with bad defense.

The question now becomes: how well can Nash fit into the Princeton Offense run by coach Mike Brown and assistant Eddie Jordan?

Steve Nash is an excellent shooter, so even if he’s not used to running the Princeton Offense, he still provides value as a scorer. He will start nearly every possession with the ball in his hands and will quarterback the Lakers’ offense. He dictates the tempo of the offense, how the possession evolves and who gets the ball against certain opponents or during certain situations; Nash will have freedom being the triggerman of the offense. If Nash wants to run a pick and roll to start a Lakers’ set, he can, if he wants to run a play where Bryant will get the ball early and be the primary option, he can do that too. If it’s time to get Pau Gasol or Howard a touch in the post, Nash can make that happen simply by organizing his teammates and dictating how the play unfolds. Nash has that power for most of his career, and he’s definitely earned it.

Coach Brown wants his team playing at a faster tempo than they showed last season. In Brown’s introductory press conference a year ago, one of his key offensive principles was to push the ball up the floor. The only problem was that the Lakers didn’t really have the personnel to do that (I’m looking at you, Andrew Bynum). This season, some of the slower players are gone and that will allow Nash to increase the speed at which the Lakers play. He’ll get more early offense opportunities and can create more plays in transition.

The Lakers have the yang to Nash’s yin in Dwight Howard. Simply put, Nash is one of the very best pick and roll guards and the Lakers have themselves the most devastating pick and roll finisher in Howard. Nash, according to Mike Brown, will have the opportunity to run pick and rolls to start every possession if that’s what he chooses. Whenever Howard and Nash share the floor, they’ll be able to go away from the Princeton and instead unleash the play that’s been the bread and butter for both of them for years. The ability to fall back on this should a play break down really can’t be overvalued as it will keep the Lakers offense efficient, and will get a good opportunity to score virtually every possession, and it will keep Kobe Bryant from unleashing an extremely contested shot with the shot clock down to only a few seconds.

The Lakers offense will be much improved with the addition of Nash. Initial concerns were over defense, but now that has been handled by getting Dwight Howard to provide weak-side help on the defensive end. Nash could very well be the key to the Lakers championship hopes next season. 

The Steve Nash Effect

The Lakers went into the off season and a talent rich free agency with enormous question marks in four different aspects of the team and completely pushing the limits of the new CBA meaning Los Angeles could only offer veteran’s minimum (1.4 million a year), the new mini-mid level exception (3.6 million a year) and a trade exception they got from Dallas for Lamar Odom. With General Manager Mitch Kupchak publicly stating that the team will try not to use the mini-mid level exception unless the value of the player outweighs the amount of the contract, options were very limited for the Lakers.

Then, on July 4^th, Mitch made magic happen. The Lakers and the Suns agreed on a sign and trade with Steve Nash going to L.A. and the Suns receiving 4 draft picks (two first round picks in 2013 and 2015 and two second round picks in 2013 and 2014). Los Angeles had to use Lamar Odom’s trade exception (Thanks, Lamar!) to be able to afford Nash on the books.

After that huge splash to start the Lakers’ free agency, the snowball just kept growing for L.A. The Dwight Howard trade aside, Los Angeles managed to persuade some high quality veterans to the club using only the veteran’s minimum for a few reasons: Kobe Bryant, the opportunity to win a championship, and most importantly, Steve Nash was the team’s new point guard.

The Lakers finally have an All-Star caliber; pass first point guard, something the team hasn't had since 1991 with Magic Johnson leading the Lakers to a Finals appearance. Nash is a player that makes sure the right player gets the ball at the right time. This is huge for shooters, and one of the big reasons the Lakers were able to get veteran big man Antawn Jamison and three point specialist Jodie Meeks for the veteran’s minimum.

Everybody knows Nash’s resumé: He’s an incredible talent at the point guard position, he’s a player who provides stability, knowledge, experience and quality minutes at a position that was manned by Derek Fisher, Steve Blake and Ramon Sessions for most of the season. He’s a very efficient offensive player that has a special vision of the game, provides great passing and shooting to add more firepower to the Lakers’ back court. 

Nash is one of five players to join the 50-40-90 club (50% FG, 40% from deep, 90% from the stripe) since the NBA introduced the three-point line. He joins elite company with Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, and Mark Price being the only other members and Larry Bird being the only other player to have multiple 50-40-90 seasons (Bird has two; Nash has four).

But Nash provides more than just numbers. He’s a player that makes everyone around him better and more involved within the offensive system. Mike Brown is notorious for having offenses that do not move the ball, but rely on the star player to make something happen out of nothing. It happened with Cleveland and LeBron James and it happened last season during the playoffs with Kobe Bryant. Nash helps correct this problem, as he brings a team first attitude and mentality, and allows all of the players to play off the ball and not have to create their own shots.

It was a huge off season for the Lakers, as nearly every hole was addressed while spending the minimum. The pressure has shifted from teams like Oklahoma City and Miami. Thankfully, the Lakers are used to pressure and the spotlight. 

Why the Lakers shouldn’t pursue veteran Derek Fisher

With the recent news of former Laker point guard Derek Fisher being eligible to sign once again with Los Angeles; many fans within the Lakers’ community have been vocal about bringing back the former captain for one more season. Most of those fans believe Fisher could help the team, describing him with words like “leadership” and “veteran presence”.

I’ve always been a big Derek Fisher fan. He’s had so many moments that will go down in Laker history (Like this. Or this. And this.) and he was a key part to five championship Laker squads. When the Lakers traded him during the season, I was disappointed to see him go, however I understood why the front office decided to part ways when they did. Fisher was always one of the “glue” guys; he brought stability and leadership to the locker room and was one of the only players that Kobe Bryant could see eye to eye on.

Here’s the problem with bringing him back: He’s declined far too much to be a suitable back up. Steve Nash is the team’s new starting point guard, and at 38 years of age, he’s not getting any younger. Mike Brown will likely limit Nash’s minutes from 30 to 35 per game to help keep him fresh for the playoffs (a similar strategy is run by the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich). For Mike Brown to be able to do this though, he will need an adequate back up at the position. The other two point guards on the roster are Steve Blake and Chris Duhon.

Here’s the comparison between the three:

 

We can see that the numbers are about even. Except that Fisher accomplished this while playing near starter minutes for the Lakers; the per 36 minutes of playtime numbers favor Steve Blake in just about every category. Fisher’s OWS (Offensive Win Shares) this season was -0.2. Steve Blake’s was 0.2. I know, not much of an improvement, however the Lakers can’t afford to downgrade at any position coming off the bench.

Fisher has been notoriously bad on defense for at least three seasons now. His DWS (the same as OWS except with defense) was 0.2; Steve Blake’s was 0.8. Fisher has almost declined to the point of no longer belonging in the NBA. His WS/48 was 0.010 (average is 0.100). He’s no longer a good option for a team that needs an adequate back up and is stacked with veteran voices for the locker room.

I like Derek Fisher. He’s the creator of many classic Laker moments, but he’s over-the-hill and, at this point, would cause more harm than good for Los Angeles.