One of the concerns of new Lakers coach Mike Brown is his lack of offensive acumen. Brown has a reputation as a very good defensive coach, but much of his offensive strategy in Cleveland seemed to be give the ball to LeBron James and everyone else get out of the way (not that Kobe Bryant would necessarily object). However, with the hire of Italian coach Ettore Messina, Brown seems to have covered his bases offensively.
↵Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld, who broke the news of Messina's hire, noted Messina's role will be similar to that of Tex Winter to Phil Jackson, technically a full-time consultant to the head coach. Over at Silver Screen and Roll, Ben R. found an article written by Messina about his offensive philosophies, and Ben was intrigued by Messina's desire to get the ball into the post for at least 20 shots per game:
↵↵↵At least twenty post-ups a game? Getting the other team into foul trouble? Avoiding stagnancy on the perimeter by getting it into the post? Where was this guy all of last year? Of course, there's a big gap between saying you're going to do something and seeing it implemented on the court, but as anyone who watched the Lakers this past season can attest to, the mind-boggling refusal of the team's perimeter players to throw the ball into the post more often was a huge problem.
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Maybe this was what Andrew Bynum was talking about when he talked about "trust." The Lakers were sixth and 11th in offensive efficiency in the last two seasons, respectively, after finishing third in the NBA in both 2008 and 2009.
↵For more news and information on Mike Brown, the Lakers, and their coaching search, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.