I wonder how they'll respond tonight..I'm worried about this game just like everyone else. This seems like it'll be a moral booster for both the players and the crowd!

Surprised they took this long.

Brown was doomed from the start. The man is a top-notch assistant coach but nothing more.

If they hire D'Antoni I'm going to be even more of a Lakers fan

Reckon it might be Nate McMillan or some other established coach.

How strange and awful would it be if they hired Don Nelson!

migya--oh man, Nellie coaching the Lakers? ha ha-that'd be beautiful! What blows me away is why did it take the Buss family so long to figure out Brown wasn't the right coach for them? Did they think something would magically change this season? Why didn't they fire him after last season? The starting 5 hasn't even been able to practice together due to injuries, I don't know if Brown is solely to blame for the slow start. Was kind of hoping we could pull out a W in LA, guess they decided to come to play...So is Phil Jackson the only coach in the the world who can coach this team? (Magic was on TV talking about it again) Do they think he's going to come out of retirement? Are they expecting him to coach until he's 80 and/or dies on the sidelines during a game? Pretty selfish of them, let the guy relax and enjoy life. I think he should tell them forget it (maybe even go f themselves-ha ha!) and perhaps the players should stop depending on him to "save" them...Play hard for the coach they get and shut up...that being said, I just love seeing the Lakers in turmoil...I think they ought to hire Stan Van Gundy and reunite him with Dwight! Love it!

I think Phil Jackson, powerhungry m'fer he is, will coach them this season ad they just might win it all as well.

To be honest, I just want the Lakers to lose, even though I want Nash to win a championship finally, just not in
Lakers.

I guess you're right, Phil Jackson must be that powerhungry mfer after all. From the headlines it looks as though he's a lock to return. And I thought he'd want enjoy some retirement years--looks like those 9 rings aren't enough. I admire the competitive spirit but how many championships is enough? Guess we'd have to ask Bill Russell that! I agree with you--I'd like Nash to get a ring, too, but not with the f-ing Lakers!

Maybe Phil's going for 12 rings to have more than Russell, if I'm not wrong making him the most rings of anyone in nba history.

Hire Stan Van Gundy cause lol.

No Van Gundy unfortunately, lol. They hired D'Antoni. Might be fun as well.

That means no defense more likely than not. Don't see these Lakers winning it all this season. D'Antoni is a good coach and he showed it in Phoenix with talent, but Dwight must be used for his strength of defense and I wonder if D'Antoni can change his style to do that.

I heard the news about D'Antoni and was a bit mystified myself, was wondering what you guys thought about the hire. I confess that I'm not up on the kinds of offensive schemes all these different coaches run but caught Stephen A. talking about how D'Antoni doesn't like to use the low post. I know that he likes to run and gun but to not use Howard down low seems crazy! migya I wonder too if D'Antoni is going to change his style some to allow Dwight to play his brand of defense. I don't understand coaches who don't allow their players to use their strengths. Definately will be running alot of pick and rolls with Nash though--is he still out of the lineup? Obviously he was successful in Phoenix running his offense but as we learned from Nellie it makes it harder to win without playing much defense. Sure, with an ultra talented squad you can get to the playoffs but I don't think it's possible to win championships running and gunning without much defense.

Steven A is trippin.

D'Antonni runs a nonstop 5-1 or 4-1 Fist. It's a pick and roll from the top of the key that a point guard like Nash eats up for breakfast cause he's done it a million times. D'Antonni sets his wings in the corner as a default, so look for MWP and Jamison to start getting those easy corner pops that made Joe Johnson the highest paid player in the league and got QRich a laughable contract. Expect D'Antonni to alter his play book to run a surplus of 2-4 Side Fists with Howard lurking on the weak side, ready to catch anything Kobe or Pau feed him.

Are they gonna run and run? Totally.

Is their defense going to suffer? Ehh, hold on there...

D'Antonni's defense is similar to Nellie's defense: you encourage the guards to play risky and jump lanes to trigger the fast break. Results in a list of steals, a lot of possessions, a lot of points. The weakness to it, however, is that it exposes your bigs because its liable to break down guard coverage and allow inside penetration. We saw this in Nellie Ball, where the bigs would either give up slams (Murphy/Lee) or they'd hit foul trouble (Biedrins/Foyle).

But riddle me this: does your defense suffer, in that scheme, with the monstro sized, Defensive Player of the World, Slam Dunk Champeen D12 anchoring your paint?

My guess is, not much.

In fact, I'd bet Howard pulls a Serge Ibaka and averages 5 blocks per game from here on out.

I couldn't agree with 32 more. We all figure the offense will be good, but the defense won't be nearly as bad as it was in Phoenix and New York. Even though I think Kobe is overrated as a defender, he gives 100% effort which is most important on defense. Ron Artest and D Howard are two defensive minded players. He also didn't have the 7 footers he has now protecting the rim.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/cool-n ... ens,30433/

LOL