Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 at 10:30 am  |  136 responses

Steve Nash Says the Lakers are ‘Thinking Too Much’


Overthinking things, you say? Well, that’s certainly one way to look at the Los Angeles Lakers’ ineptitude on both ends of the floor during their season-opening loss to the short-handed Dallas Mavericks. Steve Nash and head coach Mike Brown did their best to explain. Per the OC Register and SI: “The more energetic Dallas Mavericks took it to the Lakers on Opening Night 2012 at Staples Center, scoring a 99-91 victory behind Darren Collison’s 17 points. Collison’s point-guard counterpart, Nash, looked tentative in the new equal-opportunity offense, and Howard shot a demoralizing 3 for 14 on free throws. ‘We’re thinking too much instead of just playing,’ Nash said. [...] The problem is not that the Lakers went 0-8 in the pre-season or even that they dropped the opener. More troubling is the way they used Nash — or failed to use him — in the new system. Instead of maximizing the point guard they waited so long to obtain, the Lakers treated him like a new incarnation of Fisher, watching him dribble the ball up the court, launch a few 3-pointers, and do little else. Nash finished with seven points and four assists, a stat line that would have been unheard of in Phoenix. The Lakers tallied seven fast-break points, a total that would have made Mike D’Antoni shudder. Steve Blake, Nash’s backup, had more assists. So did Pau Gasol, a seven-footer. It was as though Mike Brown slipped lead weights into Nash’s sneakers. ‘Steve has the ability to do Steve,’ Brown said. ‘Every time down the floor in early offense he has the ability to play pick-and-roll with Dwight. He can do that whenever he wants or he can get us into offense….He’s thinking some. He knows he can come down and go get his, but he’s got Kobe here and Metta (World Peace) here and Dwight here and Pau here. He’s trying to find the balance of what to do and when to do it. His job by no means is easy. He’s an intelligent enough guy and a good enough leader where he’ll figure it out.’ [...] ‘I’m caught trying to get the ball moving and get us into different sets,’ Nash said. ‘Tonight I didn’t get a lot of pick-and-roll. There are growing pains and there will probably be more.’”

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  • Caboose

    I don’t think Mike Brown has ever “thought too much” in his life.

  • robb

    Aaah you beat me to it.

  • JN

    I’d take a helathy Bynum over Dwight purely for the extra 20% FT over their careers. Dwight isn’t like a prime Shaq in that he’ll still get you 30 points even when he misses his free-throws and I think that could cost the lakers a playoff game ort two.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    The TNT guys said it last night. They need to scrap the Princeton offense. If they’re not going to run, they will have a tough time getting wins against teams like the Thunder, Spurs, Clippers and Heat. Playing slow will keep teams in the game with them. It will work against teams who struggle to close out games but against teams with closers like Durant, Ginobili/Parker, CP3 and LeBron/Wade, they’ll lose. If Mike Brown continues to run this offense and Steve Nash can’t get out and run, a coaching change will be made. No good reason for Nash to only get 4 assists in any game playing with the guys he’s playing with. Gasol played well though.

  • http://twitter.com/Jzakoni Verified Account

    Fire brown. Being back Phil Jackson or Brian Shaw

  • surety

    Mavs basically had a completely new roster and Carlisle had them humming along with a steady dose of pick and rolls that was simply killing the Lakers. Brown has the best PNR guard AND the best PNR finisher in the NBA and the Lakers didn’t run one until the 4th quarter. Why not keep the game simple instead of this hybrid bullshit? SMH Mike Brown.

  • justin05

    Make some damn free throws…I know Dwight is shooting w/ a new form but damn, it was a hard game to watch last night. Outcoached, outplayed. Caboose hit it on the head, Brown and Jordan just looked like they were happy to be a part of this team. Reporters were saying that Kobe was helping coach in practice also.. Come on Jim, fire his ass. Our next coach better make Howard shoot free throws for a couple hours a day. You cannot win consistently when you get to the free throw line 5-10 times and make 2 pointsoverall from the CHARITY stripe.

  • http://twitter.com/Jzakoni Verified Account

    And as far of the Princeton offense.. Wasn’t Kobe the one that went and told brown they should run it..

  • justin05

    Too late, Shaw has a new job. I wouldn’t be surprised if Phil gave it another year or 2. It depends on his health

  • http://twitter.com/Jzakoni Verified Account

    Shaws down in Indiana as assistant coach. The buss family did wrong by choosing brown over shaw. I don’t think Jackson has the itch quite yet…

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    He said he thought it was a good idea…I’m sure he feels differently now.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Brian Shaw is the guy who should have been hired after Phil left.

  • justin05

    Yeah he might not get that itch back lol. Coaching in the NBA is very political, they chose Borwn because he was successful in Cleveland w/ Lebron. He had years of exp. w/ a superstar talent but that superstar talent did more for him then he could ever have done. Shaw should have been hired but this is the world we live in.

  • Drig

    Actually, running would only kill us as we have no good transition defenders ( Dwight’s not good until he shakes of all that rust ). And the fact that we’re not the quickest team around, the most athletic team around or the youngest team around is gonna kill us vs said teams if we go for a running contest. Also, in the POs, we don’t want LAL to stutter implementing their half-court game which will decide matches for them. The problem is the balance. Too many times Nash just went around the pick and passed the ball off and stood near the 3pt line. He’s got to find the balance between attacking and setting up the play by game 10 this season IMO. Once he can do that, LAL’s O is virtually unstoppable. One thing that I do wish LAL would do is get into their sets early OR scrap the play if they take too much time pushing the ball up teh court and getting into positions. That way, Nash would be free to run the PnRs too……

  • Drig

    It’s still a good idea. The problem is that using it exclusively like Nash called it this game isn’t a bright one. While MikeB and Kobe must get their share of the blame for not encouraging Nash to play his style more, Nash should’ve been more assertive and taken his chances. I remember one play where Kobe got Nash the ball for an open J and he passed back to Kobe. THAT is what I don’t want to see. I want Nash to restrain Kobe when he desires to take almost every shot at times. Plays like this don’t instill confidence in me.

    TBH, he looked like a more capable Derek Fisher in game 1. Hopefully, he atleast becomes a more capable Sessions in game 2……..

  • charliewinning

    I hope they continue to “think too much”. I hope they think so much that this will beat a repeat of ’04.

  • charliewinning

    *be a repeat

  • Drig

    Dwight had one of his worst defensive showings, a bad night from the charity stripe and was playing himself into shape. Give him some slack. He’s gonna help the Lakers win series, even if he’s gonna cost them a game or two in them.

  • bike

    This Princeton-style offense may have had some merit prior to LA getting Nash and Howard. Nash has to run and Dwight has to pick and roll. Let’s see how stubborn Brown can be.

  • http://twitter.com/niQknacks niQ

    Meh.. Jim Carrey > Grimace.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Drig, you need to learn about the Princeton offense. Nash was doing what he’s supposed to do, in that system. —- And running doesn’t mean sprinting full speed up and down the court, it means playing with a quicker tempo and getting more shots in rhythm. It’s not like Nash has played on the most athletic team in the league at any point in the last 6 years, but he still leads the best offense, year in and year out. He gets high % shots for his teammates by putting pressure on the defense. In this system, he CAN’T do that.

  • Jeffster

    Yet he’s probably made more money in the last five years than you’ll make in a lifetime. He may not be a basketball genius, but he’s a lot richer than you Mr. Keyboard Coach.

  • Drig

    I get that that is what the system dictates him to do. But I also hear the rest of the team telling Nash it’s on him to decide if he wants to run it or run the PnR game……….and Nash didn’t deny it.

    Another thing is that the Lakers don’t actually want him to carry that burden for all the minutes he plays on the floor like he did in Phx since they signed him to a 3 year deal. Which is why I think it’s necessary for the Lakers to get a system to fall back on when things get too hard on Nash and his body. Any system that works.

  • James

    @a51c115572bc34fdeb2c83b12497f64d:disqus that was def the comment of the day

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    i think what they mean by that is, (which i really really like to hear), is that Nash has veto power over the offense. And is just not comfortable enough to take advantage of it yet.
    .
    i am not at all down on the Lakers. i know that’s how this sounds, but what i’m trying to say is, with the proper adjustments, that team is going to have a hard time losing.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    cosign this. and thank the lawd the TNT/NBATV guys have been bashing the Princeton offense. (they ALL did it during Open Court) Because it just isn’t the right thing to run. At all.

  • BRAVO

    wow i really wasnt expecting the Lakers to play like that last night. I was expecting a good and exciting game but overall the Lakers were so boring to watch @ times. They need to switch up the offense becuz how far can you go if your best players arent producing properly?

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    If Nash has to play differently in any way than he did in Phoenix, it won’t work. I heard a few people talk about it while everyone else crowned the Lakers champions right after they made the two huge acquisitions. Nash can’t just wander around the perimeter. If he passed up any shots, it’s most likely because he was uncomfortable. The one guy who should have the ball less is Kobe unless the team needs a jolt offensively or it’s the end of the game. Pau’s skillset allows him to play in basically any offense as long as he’s in the high post or low post (whatever that was that had him out at the 3 point line last season was ridiculous). Dwight doesn’t have that skillset. So if he’s going to be featured at all, a different offense is needed. Nash is a great fit with Dwight and Pau. Pau can either pick and roll or pick and pop. Of course Dwight can pick and roll. The challenge will be if Nash and Kobe can play together. Both love having the ball. But if one will have to change, it’s Kobe. Less isolation unless it’s necessary. Less one on one play. Let Nash run the show. With all that said, this team can’t really be judged until January in my opinion. If there are still issues on offense at that time, something will need to change.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Right because how much money he makes has a lot to do with what Caboose said and the implication behind it. Money doesn’t make him a great coach. So what was the purpose of that comment seeing as how it’s completely irrelevant? Also…Mike Brown is probably a lot richer than you too so even if what you said had any relation to what Caboose said, you would fall in the same category with him.

  • robb

    that “he’s richer than you” argument is lame dude, I don’t need to be a coach to realize when someone isn’t doing a good job. Kwame brown would definitely kick my ass 1 on 1 but he’s a terrible NBA player. Facts are facts.

  • Lorne

    Who implied he wasn’t richer than me? He’s making millions coaching the game Caboose thinks he knows better than him, while his intelligence is being insulted by some kid sitting behind his computer who probably couldn’t make a D-III basketball team. The two things are directly related. I may not think Mike Brown is a great NBA coach but I’m not insulting the man’s intelligence. Unlike myself and Caboose, people pay him millions to coach. Who’s paying anyone here millions to run their team? I’ll wait.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    i agree with that entire statement. we just view the situation with Nash a bit differently. I think LA will be fine with Nash playing a lesser role…..as long as Dwight and Pau are the featured players in the offense. As I said and i’m sure you saw above, i believe Kobe should only get the ball in “scoring areas” to minimize his opportunities to make questionable decisions.
    .
    I honestly expect Nash to be at about 12 PPG and 7-8APG that’s it. And that’s all they really neeed as long as he’s efficient.

  • Kevin

    “Everybody can tell you how to do, they never did it”.

  • Kevin

    Still a better NBA coach than you. Oh wait, you’re not! lmao

  • Lorne

    It’s true. You just don’t like it because in this forum you feel like your opinion matters more than it really does. My statement was a dose of reality because it was as dismissive as it was true.

  • pposse

    they need to be paying me to be a GM #justsayin

  • Caboose

    Did you really think that was funny?

  • Caboose

    Alright, I made a crack about Mike Brown’s intelligence. Did I ever mention his knowledge of the game? No. I know that Mike Brown knows the game better than I do, but I’m willing to bet a good chunk of change that I’m smarter than him.

  • Kevin

    Yes I did. Are you really as obnoxious and annoying in real life as you are on this site?

  • Caboose

    I’m obnoxious? And annoying? Enlighten me.

  • justin05

    Caboose can be a keyboard warrior at times but so can we all right? That’s the internet for you. He was just trying to make a joke, Caboose is actually pretty intelligent, he just doesn’t understand the game through a player’s view. Your D-III comment was on the money.

  • Jesse

    I don’t think anyone was saying he’s a great coach, or even a good one. It’s just safe to assume that when you basically call someone dumb for something you probably can’t do yourself, expect that kind of reaction. I can’t call a doctor stupid if I never even got accepted to med school. Same principle.

  • justin05

    Money isn’t relevent but Mike Brown is still a professional coach. He had to get up there by doing more than commenting on Slam and looking up stats. You should leave a few of Caboose’s comments alone tho, I’m starting to think that you and nbk have a thing for him or eachother. I’m glad the Slam community brings ppl together but you guys are turning into the 3 stooges of bball. That raptor fan guy is trying to join your circle too but he’s not as intelligent as you and Cab. More leightweight like nbk..

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Agreed.

  • Caboose

    Explain to me how BAMN, nbk, and I are the 3 Stooges. Isn’t it kind of convenient how three of the most intelligent people here agree with each other?

  • justin05

    That comment was directed as bamn but it doesn’t really matter..lol

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    It’s called a joke. The same joke that was told while he was in Cleveland..lots of people joked that LeBron was the actual coach of that team. Now they say that Kobe is the real coach of this team. Just jokes. The 9 people who gave it a thumbs up probably got it. You didn’t.

  • Caboose

    Cosign

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    You should leave any comment that makes any kind of sense alone seeing as how you rarely have anything to add that’s worth reading.

  • Caboose

    Oh, I’m sorry, “enlighten” might have been too big a word for you. “Tell me” might be more your speed.

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