After watching the powerhouse Los Angeles Lakers drop another game versus the Utah Jazz, one can’t help but think that trouble may be brewing in Tinsel town. The Lakers started the season with three straight losses posting one of the worst starts in franchise history before winning convincingly against the Detroit Pistons. The loss to Utah has resulted in an embarrassing 1-4 record when pundits all expected the Lakers to come out blazing after being tagged as the best team in the Western Conference. After all, the Lakers have the NBA’s best center in Dwight Howard, five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, and four time All-Star forward Pau Gasol in their line-up.

The Lakers were the most talked about team in the off season after scoring what many considered another personnel coup when they traded away oft-injured center Andrew Bynum for Howard. The team also signed two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash, who even with his advancing age, is still considered an elite player at his position. With these moves, the expectations for the Lakers went through the roof.

The bad start has prompted calls to fire Coach Mike Brown. Brown succeeded the legendary Phil Jackson as the Lakers’ head coach last season. The bad start even forced the Lakers’ executive vice-president Jim Buss (son of the team’s owner) to recently make a public statement in support of Brown in a bid to keep the team focused amid all the disappointment. However, frustration could be clearly gleaned from Buss. He stated before that this team “was built to win now” and quipped that this situation should be corrected “sooner rather than later.” A few more losses could definitely cost Brown his job.

Another thing that the Lakers seem to be having some difficulty with is the Princeton offense. The team hired Eddie Jordan in the off season to help teach this offensive basketball strategy. So far, Bryant and Co are still learning the Princeton offense and it has been showing with increased turnovers on the court. This strategy heavily relies on constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, and picks with the objective of getting high percentage shots (usually lay-ups). It is designed for five players who can pass, shoot, and dribble at an above average level to exploit mismatches and create spacing.

The trouble with this offense is that it is essential for all the five players to effectively communicate and automatically read the defense to exploit mismatches. Given the Lakers’ new look, it will be a while before we see this offense in all its fluidity. In their initial games, we have seen offensive sets breaking down early leading to forced shots and worse, turnovers.

Are the Lakers really in trouble with the new system and new players? Team chemistry perhaps? Truth is, the Lakers are an offensive force with or without the Princeton and with their current roster of high basketball IQ players, they will soon learn this soon enough. The problem really is the defense and the bench depth. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard simply can’t cover all the bases. Metta World Peace and Bryant need to step up guarding the perimeter. Younger players on the bench also need to get more playing time to improve their confidence and establish their roles.

Bottom line, the Lakers are too good and experienced to have a disastrous season. The Lakers will definitely bounce back and comeback strong. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.