Mike Brown, who was fired earlier today as coach of the Lakers, appeared on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" prior to the season. And looking back at the interview now, we can see all the red flags that led to his dismissal.
With the installation of a new offense, Brown predicted two big changes to the way the Lakers would handle the ball. First, he noted that the team would have a large number of turnovers early in the season and that the offense wouldn't start clicking until January or February. And in fact, the Lakers are averaging 18.6 turnovers per game, up from 15.1 a year ago.
He also mentioned that Kobe Bryant would shoot the ball a lot less. In the team's first five games, Kobe is taking just 16.8 shots per game, down from 23.0 per game a year ago. That's a huge drop for a superstar.
But more importantly, when Brown was asked whose team this is, he responded without hesitation, "it's his team." And it is hard not to see Kobe's fingerprints all over the decision to fire Brown today...
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