We all saw it coming. Fresh off a disasterous 1-4 start to the season, and one day after a now infamous video of Kobe Bryant shooting a death stare at coach Mike Brown surfaced, the former Cleveland Cavaliers coach is out and assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff is in.
It’s not all Mike Brown’s fault. Steve Nash is hurt, Dwight Howard and Kobe are nowhere near 100%, and having a near 40 year old Antawn Jamison as your #1 option off the bench was an obvious handicap in the early going.
But this is L.A, and after spending big, reshuffling the deck, and amid high hopes this season, GM Mitch Kupcheck wasted no time in making a coaching change.
Now the real rumors will start to swirl whether they can convince Phil Jackson to un-retire, settle on another proven head man like former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, or finally give longtime assistant Brian Shaw a chance.
The Lakers actually looked good last night in getting the best of the Warriors, but all anyone is talking about is the hometown crowd chanting “We want Phil” while Kobe shot free throws.
At the post game press conference, interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff made light of the swirling Phil Jackson rumors by sighting selective amnesia, asking the media “Phil who?”
Lakers Fans Chant “We Want Phil”:
Lakers Interim Coach Bickerstaff Asks “Phil Who?”:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
