Checking back in on that Battle for L.A. we were telling you about….
As in, “What battle?”
The Lakers are still the Lakers, more or less, even if we still don’t know what they’ll wind up as, more or less.
The Clips are no longer the Clippers, even if Clippers have always gone back to being the Clippers with mass desertions, heads rolling, lawsuits, etc.
For the moment, the air has gone out of the Clips’ euphoric breakout—remember Lob City?–even with the team on what would be a 48-win pace in a normal season.
Laker expectations are always crushing–and the Laker who’s now being crushed is Mike Brown.
The new coach has all Lakerdom bearing down on him, trying to follow Phil Jackson, in what appears to be an extended and troubled negotiation with his players about who’s in charge.
Dispatches from the front have rolled in for weeks:
Feb. 12—Metta World Peace tells CBSports.com, “Coach is a stats guy. His background is video coordinator or whatever. So he’s all stats. But Ron Artest is all feel.”
Of course, he’s Ron Artest or Metta World Peace, so it’s not taken as a sign of rising unrest.
March 7, Washington, D.C.–Brown criticizes Kobe Bryant’s shot selection after he misses 22 of 31 as they blow a double-figure lead over the Wizards.
Asked about it, Bryant is silent for six seconds—writers time it off audio recordings—before shrugging it off.
Andrew Bynum notes they need to put in some new options so he can find cutters when he’s double-teamed.
ESPNLosAngeles reports the players want to re-install Jackson’s triangle offense, which Brown has junked.
March 8—A video session becomes a clear-the-air session.
The Los Angeles Times reports Brown apologized to Bryant.
Brown says he offered only a general apology to everyone for zinging them.
March 25—Brown benches Bryant in crunch time of their 102-96 loss to the Jazz in Staples Center.
Bryant stomps to the bench, punches a chair, shakes his head angrily as in “No way,” but afterward stands by his man, formally, at least.
“If you guys are looking for a story, I’m not going to give you one,” Bryant tells the press.
“… I got to have his back. I’ve had his back the whole season. I can’t start doing something crazy now. It wouldn’t make no sense.”
March 27—Bynum is benched during their win in Oakland after launching a 3-pointer early in the shot clock that only Kobe could get away with taking, sometimes.
Bynum and teammates joke about it on the bench as Drew displays his shooting form, noting later he saw “nothing bench-worthy about taking that shot,” promising to put up more of them.
Of course, except for abandoning the triangle, Brown has been right.
With World Peace fading or faded, looking for alternatives, starting Devin Banks and Matt Barnes was fine.
Bryant’s shot selection is, was and always will be psychedelic.
Bynum’s 3 was ridiculous, as was his subsequent failure to run back on defense. All-Star or not, he has lazy stretches and had it coming.
Of course, as Jackson might tell Brown, it’s not about being right and showing your players who’s boss by challenging them out in the open, but keeping it from getting to that point.
Jackson zinged his players at will in the press, often noting Kobe’s forays off the reservation.
However, with Phil’s bemused style, it was like a joke with a message that his players accepted.
Only in the playoffs would Jackson turn confrontative, as just before Game 2 against the 76ers in the 2001 Finals when he growled at Shaquille O’Neal, “Don’t be afraid to block a shot.”
Shaq, who hadn’t blocked any in their Game 1 loss, was so stunned, he forgot to yell “Lakers!” when the players put their hands together before the tap, so Horace Grant had to do it.
O’Neal then blocked eight shots as the Lakers won, going on to end it five games.
For all Jackson’s genius, he would be challenged with this team, which showed its increased age and its fading heart last spring.
Brown has the impossible task of following Jackson and the inevitable burden of being compared to him.
The first thing Brown did upon arrival was sit down with, and win over Bryant, who’d been cool to his hiring.
Now or any other time would be a bad time to lose Kobe, or not to win him back.
As for Clipper Nation, it’s not restive at all. These fans have seen worse than this, or at least those whose interest pre-dated the arrival of Chris Paul.
The Clips’ problem is getting Blake Griffin to extend this summer and CP3 to re-up next summer.
Team officials think Blake will sign, but no one knows what CP3 will do if the air goes out of another balloon next season.
Some years there are no proven coaches available, as in 2010 when the Clippers hired Del Negro, who had been OK with the Bulls, depending on who you asked, and Dallas assistant Dwane Casey, who had been OK in Seattle.
This summer, Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan and Jerry Sloan will be out there.
Internally and externally, the Battle of L.A., has only begun.
Mark Heisler is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops, LakersNation and the Old Gray Lady. His power rankings appear Wednesday and his columns appear Thursday. Follow him on Twitter.
If CP3 is smart, re-signing next summer will depend on Griffin re-signing this summer and then adjusting his attitude and improve his game.
Heisler’s always been the best in covering what’s going on with the Lakers. Too bad he no longer write for the Times.