Mike Brown fired: Pau Gasol says team didn't lose faith in former Lakers coach

Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol on Friday expressed that his team had confidence in now fired head coach Mike Brown. "I don't think we lost faith at any moment," Gasol said. "I think we believed in what we were trying to do ... It wasn't happening as fast as we all wanted to. There were different things that didn't play in our favor."

For the short term, Gasol and his teammates will have to put faith in each other and interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, as the Lakers play Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, less than 12 hours after Brown's firing.

Why did the Lakers struggle to a 1-4 start? Gasol pegged injuries as a key factor, not only because of the absence of Steve Nash, but Kobe Bryant hasn't practiced for weeks. "The system takes a little bit of time and takes time to jell," said Gasol, indicating that missed practice time has hurt.

Whether this was meant to be a message to the team, Gasol received it. "It's a pretty direct message to all of us and there's no messing around. It's time for us to step it up."