If you're a lover of the La Lakers or you happen to spend lots of time around Lakers fans, chances are that within the last two years either you or some body you know has joked that the Lakers might as well just make Kobe Bryant their head coach. But imagine if it actually happened? What if, after the Lakers fired Mike Brown five games into the season, Jim Buss said, "There isn't any way I'm getting Phil right back. There is no body else who can are available in and change this issue around on the fly. I do not want to spend an overmatched coach while I'm still paying the man I just processed. Screw it, let us just let Kobe instructor the team!?" It is a fantastical scenario, to be certain, but let us weed it out simply for kicks. Undoubtedly the Lakers would be afar different team than they're now, but would it be for better or for worse? Here is the way the Lakers would look if Kobe surely got to channel his interior Bill Russell and be L.A.'s player-coach with this time. (Also, prepare for the absolute most frank training interviews you have ever seen.) 1. Slow the Game Down What've we been hearing (and viewing) all year? The Lakers are slow and old. Kobe knows this much better than anyone, and although he's given us some flashbacks to his running maximum, Bryant doesn't desire the wine rate coach Mike D'Antoni has mounted. Just look at the way he plays. Rarely does Bryant get the ball and fire away. Rather, he takes the defense to be surveyed by a couple seconds prior to going on the strike. The Lakers quit the second-most fast break things in the league. As a staff, the Lakers currently rank next in the NBA in speed. But why? There's no point in forcing the speed when you don't have the horses to perform along with your opponent. How many times this year have we observed Ty Lawson or James Harden or Russell Westbrook cruise coast to coast for a straightforward layup after madeAbaskets? Los Angeles ' advantage is their size. Their lineup arrangement is a lot more similar to the Memphis Grizzlies (28th in pace) than the Houston Rockets (No.1 in pace), why do they try to speed the game up like the latter? 2. Perform Through the Post The easiest way to slow the game down is always to work your offense through the post rather than jacking the first available three-point attempt. Fortuitously, the Lakers are blessed with two of the finest article people in the category in Bryant and Pau Gasol. Probably, the 1st change Coach Bryant makes should be to tailor the crime to a pound-it-down-low inside-out model. Bryant loves running out from the post. According to MySynergySports, he makes nearly 55 per cent of his field goals in post-up situations and ranks eighth in things per person on post-ups. Gasol also excels at having fun with his back again to the holder, although the numbers haven't bore that out this season. (However, none of Gasol's figures in 2013 bear any resemblance to the remainder of his career.) He could also be a brilliant facilitator from the shoulder just how his brother Marc does in Memphis. Bryant would want to play out from the post around possible to manipulate L.A.'s size advantage.Stephen Dunn/Getty Pictures A great set that Bryant might get the Lakers in is Gasol with the ball at the right knee putting an entry move to Kobe on the right block. David Nash and Shooter X would be stationed behind the three-point arc on the left side of a floor with Dwight Howard sailing on that side as well. Bryant might go to work one-on-one against his defense, with the right side of the court eliminated. Based on where in fact the aid comes from, Kobe might have numerous options to visit from there. Gasol could possibly be available at the elbow for a makeable jumper. Howard might dart to the hoop often for a lob from Bryant or even a rapid high-low from Gasol if the first move would go to the elbow. Howard can also set a screen for a weak-side shooter for an three off a laser from Bryant. In a system like that (compounded of course with pick-and-rolls and some smart Steve Nash probes), the Lakers would work down the other team possession after possession 24 seconds at any given time, without getting into up-and-down sprints they cannot have the feet for. 3. No Longer Third Quarter Meltdowns The Lakers have a tendency to come out flat for the second half. Because the second quarter has been their worst quarter of the growing season, meaning there's frequently a significance of emergency immediately after halftime which should not occur. And yet, they've been outscored by their opponents in the next quarter for the summer season. Can the Lakers actually live up to Coach Bryant's demands?Christian Petersen/Getty Pictures There is no way that occurs if Kobe Bryant could be the employer. Is it possible to imagine how scary a location the Lakers locker room will be if L.A. went in to halftime after having a generally disappointing next period? Today Bryant is accountable for herself, but if it had been his job to have his teammates going and make certain these were doing what he demanded of them then some domains may need to transform their away services after the Lakers blow through town. I am saying there's even chances that Bryant could bring Dwight Howard to tears at least once following a listless first half performance.
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