Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Reasons They Will Make The Playoffs
By Joshua Lea
2. Luke Walton, The New Zen Master
Since former head coach Phil Jackson left the Los Angeles Lakers, the head coaches have been awful. The head coaches since Phil Jackson left are as follows: Mike Brown, Bernie Bickerstaff, Mike D’Antoni and Byron Scott.
Of those coaches, Bickerstaff had the best record, a surprising 4-1 record as an interim coach before D’Antoni was hired.
Luke Walton; however, has injected life into the locker room. The players want to play for him, the enjoy his offensive scheme and it’s showing on the court. Before Walton, the players didn’t trust each other, and they ran a very isolation-heavy offense.
Walton has even helped reshape the relationship between Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell, both of whom are starting and playing on the court together this season. It was thought at the end of last season that Young was either going to be cut or traded.
With new life injected into this Laker team, Walton deserves a ton of credit. He even should be in the mentions for a Coach Of The Year award. If this Laker team makes the playoffs, he’ll have to at least be in the race.