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SAN ANTONIO -- The Los Angeles Lakers said all the right things Wednesday after it became official that Mike Brown, who was let go by the Lakers in November after the team's 0-8 preseason and 1-4 regular season start, was rehired by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Mike’s a great coach," said Mike D'Antoni, Brown's replacement in L.A. "He’ll do a great job."

"I’m happy for him," said Pau Gasol, one of the eight players on the Lakers roster who played for Brown in 2011-12, his only full season in L.A. "I think Mike is a really good coach, so he’s going to I’m sure help Cleveland be a better team. They have a young team. Mike is a hardworking coach. Very dedicated. Pays attention to detail. So, he’s going to help them out."

Said Steve Nash: "He’s an extremely hard worker, a very passionate basketball person. He has an emphasis on defense and he does a great job. I think he’s a very good coach."

Added Dwight Howard: "I’m happy for him. He’s a great guy and he’s back in Cleveland, so I’m pretty sure he’s happy about that."

It remains to be seen just how happy Lakers management will end up about the development.

The Lakers owe Brown approximately $7 million for the remaining two years on his contract with the team, but the Cleveland hiring will offset some of that. According to a team source, the Lakers expect "at most" half of what they owe Brown to be offset and that the $3-4 million that it would amount to would be a "grain of sand on the beach" when it comes to impacting the Lakers' finances. The Lakers will not know the final amount they will save on the Brown hiring until his new contract with the Cavs is finalized and approved by the league, which could take "up to a month," according to the source.

The other way Brown's hiring could be felt in L.A. is with D'Antoni's coaching staff. All but two of D'Antoni's assistants -- his brother, Dan D'Antoni and Chuck Person, who was hired when Phil Jackson was the head coach -- were brought on by Brown.

That means that D'Antoni could have significant spots on his staff to fill next season if Brown attempts to lure assistant coaches Steve Clifford, Bernie Bickerstaff, Darvin Ham, player development coach Phil Handy or the team video and support staff of Kyle Triggs, J.J. Outlaw and Tom Bialaszewski.

"You know what? I’m thinking about San Antonio, that’s all I got time for," D'Antoni said Wednesday when asked if he's considered what his coaching staff could look like next season. "Then we’ll figure out everything else later. No, I’m not even thinking about it."

HOUSTON -- With the Los Angeles Lakers' starting power forward, starting center and primary back-up big man all sidelined indefinitely, Metta World Peace could be relied upon to play some center in their stead.

Despite standing just 6-7 and not having played any center since he was with the Sacramento Kings five seasons ago, World Peace isn't complaining about the potential assignment.

He's considering how it can actually benefit the Lakers.

"We’ll probably be better on our shows on the pick-and-roll," World Peace said after shootaround on Tuesday.

The Lakers come into their game with the Houston Rockets having dropped four out of five games to bring their record to a lowly 15-18. If that wasn't bad enough, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill are all out indefinitely.

That's left the team little choice but to find a glass-is-half-full approach.

"Obviously we’re not where we need to be at all and it’s something that we got to get better at, but as a coach, you just put your head down and you keep slugging away," said Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni. "You do the best you can. It’s still fun. The guys are still listening. It’s still basketball, it’s competition, it gets you riled up, it gets you disappointed at certain things but the staff’s good, we’re good together, we’re trying to solve every problem that we have. So far we got some solved and others pop up but we’re not where we need to be."

The problems have been a'plenty.

Just think of the turmoil the team has muddled through so far this season:

- An 0-8 preseason.
- Steve Nash fracturing the fibula in his left leg.
- A 1-4 start to the regular season.
- Mike Brown being fired.
- Phil Jackson being courted and then overlooked.
- Mike D'Antoni being hired.
- Pau Gasol being benched several times.
- Antawn Jamison sniping at D'Antoni after going through the same thing.
- Howard and Kobe Bryant arguing on the court, as well as Howard and Nash.

And now the losing streak and a new litany of injuries. When does it stop?

"We’ve just had one thing after the other and we haven’t been able to get on top of things," Nash said. "So, I mean in some ways, the mindset is just the same. It’s adversity, adversity, adversity. If you stay positive, you keep working, there can be an opportunity to turn that adversity into strength. So, that’s what we got to do."

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

Last week's road trip wasn't exactly a rousing success (a horrendous effort in Sacramento followed by a frustrating one in Memphis before Saturday's thumping of Dallas), but it provided the first glimpses of real hope for this season's bench crew.

After scoring a total of 45 points in the first 12 games of the season, Antawn Jamison went for 16 against Memphis on Friday night, then added 19 in Dallas on Saturday. In each, he hoisted 11 shots, a veritable explosion relative to the four a night he'd put up to that point. He was productive on the boards as well, grabbing 22 in total. Basically, Jamison looked like the guy Lakers fans (and Lakers management) expected when he was signed over the summer, but hadn't yet seen.

He wasn't the only member of the bench coming alive. Jodie Meeks was a man in exile under Mike Brown, playing only 22 minutes through the first five games. While his playing time increased under Bernie Bickerstaff, Meeks' production didn't. He hit only three of his 15 3-point attempts in the season's second five games and struggled with turnovers. In Sacramento, though, he broke through with a 12-point fourth quarter, and 15 overall. In Memphis, he hit a pair of second half triples, and in Dallas made 3-of-5 from downtown.

For both guys, a big key was a change in how they were deployed. Brown had played Jamison almost exclusively at small forward, in part to utilize his shooting skills but mostly to make room for Jordan Hill, who was among the team's best players in camp. The impulse to play Hill made plenty of sense, but in the process Jamison was pulled out of his comfort zone.

"It was difficult to get into a rhythm when my first three or four shots are three pointers. You’re going to hit one here or there, but it was just tough for me to get into a rhythm. And I’ve always been a guy who can get it from anywhere," he said Monday following practice. "Whether it’s driving to the basket, a put-back, or something off the dribble. Pick and pop. Those are the things that kind of get me into a rhythm, and honestly it was tough getting into one coming in, trying to come in and knock down three’s after sitting down for eight or nine minutes."

In Memphis, Jamison entered the game as a power forward with only one other big on the court, and was almost instantly more productive, able to use the entire floor. In Dallas, he started at the 3, quickly scoring twice with excellent off-ball movement, but again spent plenty of time at the 4 and again produced a good looking shot chart.

Some positive messaging helped as well, helping Jamison push past hesitation that had been dogging him.

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It has been six games since Devin Ebanks last appeared in a game for the Los Angeles Lakers. The time frame coincides with the amount of games the team has played since Mike Brown was fired, but the dearth in playing time also started immediately following Ebanks being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Ebanks appeared in four of the Lakers' first five games under Brown to start the season and averaged 2.5 points and 2 rebounds on 23.1 percent shooting in 10.3 minutes per game.

According to Lakers spokesman John Black, Ebanks being benched is a basketball decision, not a disciplinary act. Not only has Ebanks not played in the past six games, he wasn't even dressing for the first three, as Darius Johnson-Odom took his spot on the active roster. Steve Blake's abdominal strain has had Ebanks back in uniform the past three games, at least.

"To my knowledge, it's a basketball decision," Ebanks told ESPNLosAngeles.com before the Lakers hosted the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. "I just still got to remain professional and keep working and be ready for my number to be called."

Ebanks is still being paid while he is out of the rotation, so the benching is not considered a suspension. He is due back in court Dec. 7 to address the DUI charge. A suspension could be levied if Ebanks is found guilty at that time, as is NBA procedure whenever a player faces legal troubles.

"I can't speak on that right now," Ebanks said when asked about the arrest.

Ebanks being out of the lineup has opened up playing time for Jodie Meeks to get a chance as Kobe Bryant's backup at shooting guard. Meeks has not exactly seized the opportunity, averaging just 3.2 points on 28.5 percent shooting in the past six games.

New Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said his decision regarding Ebanks has been a matter of familiarity.

"I don’t know him," D'Antoni said. "In that sense, I haven’t watched him that much. We haven’t really practiced that much, so [you've] got to give me some time to evaluate and see what the team needs. But, obviously, he’s a talent and he’s there and we’ll see going forward. I just couldn’t tell you today what I envision today, because I don’t have that yet."

Ebanks agreed.

"I haven't really talked to him personally, really, like one-on-one,” he said of D’Antoni. “I'm sure as the season goes we'll start to talk a little more."

Even though Ebanks is out of the rotation, it's a long season. At some point over the course of the next 71 games he will likely get a second look. Especially if Meeks keeps struggling.

At 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, Ebanks has the frame to run the floor in D'Antoni's system. He also has an improved form on his jump shot from working on holding his follow-through, rather than pulling his arms back after his release. But it has yet to show up statistically; Ebanks is shooting just 1-of-5 on 3-pointers this season after going 0-of-9 last season.

"His system is, pretty much, keep the floor spread," Ebanks said. "That's definitely something I like. I need some space to cut, pick-and-rolls. I like his offense so far, just on things he's been running and putting in. I definitely like where he's going."

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- With all the drama surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers since the start of training camp -- from a winless preseason, to Steve Nash getting hurt, Mike Brown being fired, Phil Jackson being spurned and Mike D'Antoni being hired -- Dwight Howard has flown relatively under the radar.

It wasn't too long ago that Howard's name couldn't stay out of the headlines as his exit from Orlando played out in the press. The All-Star center's situation became commonly referred to as the "Dwightmare."

Howard's inspired play just six months removed from back surgery has helped people move on from the soap opera that surrounded him during the summer. He is averaging 20 points (60.8 percent shooting), 11.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks through the Lakers' first 10 games. However, with the Brooklyn Nets coming to town to play the Lakers this week, Howard was reminded Monday about his supposed preferred destination.

"I’m here now," Howard said after practice Monday, a day before the Lakers host the visiting Nets at Staples Center. "I’m in L.A. There’s no need to talk about what could have happened. I’m happy with being here in L.A. Like I’ve said, the fans have always been great here, and now that I’m on the team, the fans from Day 1, they’ve just been unbelievable to me and to this team. So I’m just happy about that."

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The early stages of the NBA season are full of surprises and interesting numbers. Whatever happens now might be an indicator of what's coming, but it might not. Some early trends are more sustainable than others, and differentiating between the two becomes a sport onto itself.

I call it "Yeah, but" season. As in "Yeah, Player/Team X might be doing ____, but ..."

For the Lakers, you could start with "Yeah, the Lakers are 5-5, but Dwight Howard is still healing and Steve Nash has barely played. And so on. Not every construction affords that kind of naked optimism, but all are worth investigating.

Here are three more potential "Yeah, but" scenarios facing the team, and thoughts on how things will play out going forward.

1. The way Kobe Bryant is playing, the Lakers can't help but be contenders at the end.

Bryant, whose triple-double paced Sunday's 119-108 win over Houston, is playing next-level ball even relative to his own lofty standards: 26.4 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 52.8 percent from the floor, 40.8 percent from downtown. His metrics are stunning. Bryant is currently obliterating career highs in true and effective field goal percentages, has never posted a higher with assist rate, leads the league in win shares, and his PER (27.4) would be the second best of his 17-year run.

Basically, he's spent the last 10 games giving the death stare to Father Time.

Yeah, but...

The percentages will fall, because even Kobe eventually goes back to career norms. He's never been better than 47 percent from the floor, so expecting him to remain above 50 while playing 2-guard at 34 years old? Not realistic. Neither is 40 percent from the arc for a guy who hasn't been over 33 percent since '08-'09. Moreover, we've seen this, or something like it, before. Last season, Kobe was incredible over the first few weeks of the season, and hit a wall as it wore on, shooting 40 percent in February and 39 percent in March.

Maybe, except...

Sure, the numbers will level out, but overall his performance doesn't necessarily have to. As many (myself included) suggested might happen with Nash, Dwight Howard, and Pau Gasol around, Kobe is adopting a less-to-do-more philosophy this year. His shots per game are down from 23 last season to 17.8, and his usage has dropped from a league leading 35.7 percent to 29.1, his lowest figure since '03-'04 (not coincidentally, with the last Lakers SuperTeam). All of this has happened without Nash, the guy who will unquestionably make life easier for Kobe, removing giant chunks of ball handling duties while setting him up for clean looks around the floor, or the debut of D'Antoni, an offensive genius who will undoubtedly find creative ways to free Bryant up.

Bottom Line: Sure, Bryant won't finish the year with a true shooting percentage of 63.8, but as long as he stays healthy -- always the wild card -- and doesn't change his approach, the basic thesis remains in play: Kobe has an excellent chance of logging his most productive and efficient season in recent memory.

2. The Lakers are now piling up points. Showtime is back!

Yeah, but...

They're giving them up by the bushel, as well. In their two most recent wins, Phoenix and Houston, two middle-third offensive teams, torched L.A. through three quarters, both shooting well over 50 percent from the floor while reaching 84 and 87 points respectively. They scored at will, the Lakers just scored at will-er. Real teams won't give up points like the Suns and Rockets and will feature plenty of offensive firepower, as well. The Lakers have to tighten up defensively or ultimately they'll be short some steak for all the sizzle.

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LOS ANGELES -- The exchange had the feeling of one of those commercials you see after a team wins a championship.

"Hey, so and so, you just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next?"

So and so: "I'm going to Disney World!"

Only this time, the accomplishment was much more meager and the response, well, classic sarcasm.

Bernie Bickerstaff, you just became the all-time winningest coach in Los Angeles Lakers franchise history, what do you think?

"That'll get me a popsicle," Bickestaff replied, chuckling at the question.

Technically, yes, Bickerstaff finished out his run as Lakers interim coach -- spanning the gap between the fired Mike Brown and the hired Mike D'Antoni -- with a 3-1 record after the Lakers won 114-102 on Friday against the Phoenix Suns, making Bickerstaff's .750 winning percentage tops in Lakers' history.

That's right, better than Pat Riley's .733, Jack McKinney's .714, Paul Westhead's .689 and Phil Jackson's .676.

It's not something the 68-year old will brag about. He knows his three wins are 607 behind Jackson for first on the all-time franchise list. He also knows that his last week at the helm of the most glamorous team in the NBA just proves that when you think you've done it all, you haven't.

This basketball lifer had already been a head coach, assistant coach, scout, president and general manager in the NBA. He'd even been the head coach of the Harlem Globetrotters.

His time running the Lakers with four potential Hall of Famers in Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol was nothing he hadn't prepared the last 30-plus years to handle.

"Maybe some coaches would say, ‘This is my opportunity,’ but Bernie, he’s been around so long, it wasn’t like he was trying to protect turf," said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. "He knew what to do. He knew what the guys needed. Give them space, keep things simple. Then, some of his press conferences really defused a little bit of the tension. He had a nice way about him."

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To say the least, the last seven days have been a whirlwind, even by the Lakers' high standards. With the dust now settled, does the franchise still appear on the right track?

 

There are occasionally periods when the news cycle doesn't provide us much in the way of juicy topics for the podKast. Safe to say, this isn't one of those periods. Plenty to chop up, with Mike Brown out, Mike D'Antoni in, and Phil Jackson -- along with his legion of fans -- left mystified. It's officially a new era in the Los Angeles Lakers' illustrious franchise history, and we're diving right in.

The show can be heard by clicking on the module, and a breakdown of talking points is below.





- (2:30): After sharing some secrets for aspiring journos everywhere, we discuss the firing of Brown. Was it fair? Was it the right decision? Why did things ultimately go wrong for Brown?

- (7:19): The Lakers shocked the world by hiring D'Antoni, despite all the reporting (and fan noise) that strongly pointed in a third tour of duty for The Zen Master. First things first. What does this development do to the Buss Family Thanksgiving dinner just around the corner?

- (10:26): We examine why Jackson may have deemed a lesser fit than D'Antoni. There are legitimate reasons to question this roster's compatibility with the triangle, and more important, how fully invested Phil would remain, given the physical and mental toll the NBA grind seemed to take on him through the 2011 season.

- (14:23): What adjustments could be necessary by D'Antoni to get the most out of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, and the supporting cast? How will this team eventually look with everyone healthy and on the same page? (By the way, it occurred to me after recording how the better "Where does Pau fit in?" comparison player was probably Boris Diaw, rather than Shawn Marion.)

- (19:10): Our biggest concern about D'Antoni might be his habit of running very short rotations, which simply cannot happen with a roster so collectively long in the tooth. However, we're not nearly as concerned about the "no defense" reputation that has plagued the coach since his days in Phoenix. While those Suns were hardly the second coming of the Bad Boy Pistons, they were actually better than credited.

- (20:55): The Kamenetzky brothers are gonna miss interim head coach Bernie Bickerstaff sooooooooooo much.

There is still a bit of shock making its way throughout Southern California as Lakers fans learn that Mike D'Antoni, not Phil Jackson, has been hired as the team's new coach.

There's plenty of intrigue surrounding the decision -- the circumstances that led to Jackson's deal falling through, the impetus for the Lakers making a swift decision late Sunday night to hire D'Antoni without ever even having an in-person interview with him, the details of the state of Jackson's relationship with the Buss family these days -- but what really matters is how D'Antoni will affect the team on the floor.

Here's a quick take on the upside and some potential problems with the move:

PROS

1. Familiarity with Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant

You could say that if it wasn't for D'Antoni, we'd think of the Lakers' point guard as former All-Star Steve Nash, rather than future Hall of Famer Steve Nash. From 2004 to 2008, Nash and D'Antoni flourished together in Phoenix. There is a deep connection between the two and certainly D'Antoni should be able to set Nash free from the "hummingbird in a sandwich bag" that Mike Brown's system trapped him in. As an assistant coach for the USA Basketball teams that won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, D'Antoni also built a strong relationship with Kobe Bryant. Both Nash and Bryant used the word "love" to describe their feelings for D'Antoni prior to the hiring. They will play hard for D'Antoni and with enthusiasm for what he is trying to achieve on the court. Plus, you have to figure that D'Antoni and Nash's shared desire to capture ring No. 1 for one another will help fuel Bryant's chances of ring No. 6 and the Lakers' chances of ring No. 17.

2. The offense should improve

If there's one thing D'Antoni has proved he can do it is make a high-octane offense work. This won't be a repeat of his "seven seconds or less" glory days with the Suns, but it shouldn't be the plodding ball that plagued Brown's tenure at the helm in Los Angeles, either. The Lakers looked stifled with the steep learning curve associated with Brown's Princeton-style experiment. D'Antoni will let Nash follow his instincts and also encourage the rest of the guys to shoot when they're open. Basic basketball and a free flow could pay big dividends with this talented roster.

3. It was done quickly

Less than 72 hours after getting rid of Brown, the Lakers found their new man. And they managed to go 2-0 with Bernie Bickerstaff during the interim. If the coaching search dragged on and on, there was potential for the team to fall into a tailspin with all the questions piling up and causing distractions. This move was executed as quickly as possible, allowing the Lakers to get back to the business of playing games.

CONS

1. Nash is 38 and has a fractured fibula

Nash is not the same player he was with D'Antoni in Phoenix. He can still play at a high level, of course, as he was second in the league in assists last season (his 16th year in the league), but there has been some decline in his game. The league's crop of elite point guards, from Chris Paul to Russell Westbrook, is as strong as it's ever been and Nash's defensive shortcomings will be put on display on a near nightly basis against them. Nash also looked a step slower on offense in the preseason. Whether that was a symptom of Brown's system or a sign of deterioration in his game remains to be seen. Regardless, relying so heavily on Nash, especially as he's dealing with a fractured fibula that is keeping him out indefinitely, is risky. And even if Nash is healthy, does he have the shooters surrounding him to look as good as he did in Phoenix? Outside of Kobe and Nash himself, the Lakers haven't proven reliable on open-shot opportunities. If Nash keeps creating them, and the jumpers continue to be off the mark, then a key element of Nash's value is undercut.

2. The devaluation of Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol

Part of the Lakers' mission this season, in addition to winning a championship, is to make sure Dwight Howard wants to stay with the team long term. Will D'Antoni's system feature Howard enough? Yes, he will be a beast in the pick-and-roll, but what about straight-up post touches? Will he get enough of them? And will D'Antoni be able to push Howard to improve his paint game when he had mixed results in that area with Amar'e Stoudemire in Phoenix and New York? Then there's Gasol. Will he be regulated to a Boris Diaw-like facilitator role or is there more for him to do? One of the key questions coming into D'Antoni's regime will be how much he is able to, and chooses to, exploit the Lakers' significant size advantage over most teams they face.

3. What about the defense?

D'Antoni's offensive track record is nearly unparalleled but defensively his teams have usually been in the middle of the pack in terms of efficiency. There was marked defensive improvement on the part of the Knicks in D'Antoni's last season in New York, but much of the credit for that improvement was given to current Knicks coach, and former D'Antoni assistant, Mike Woodson. The old adage "defense wins championships" isn't just a saying for these Lakers players, it's a belief -- especially for Bryant, who has repeated the mantra "defense and rebounding" as the keys to winning ever since the Lakers were suffocated by the Boston Celtics' D in the 2008 Finals. If D'Antoni's offense can generate enough possessions and points to counter-balance an average defense, things will go smoothly. If the offense struggles, either on the perimeter or down low, the pressure will be on the team's defense.

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

Give the Lakers credit. They never run out of ways to keep the world guessing. One day after giving Mike Brown a public vote of confidence, they send the guy packing. And then upon prepping everyone for the “Godfather Part III” installment of Phil Jackson in L.A. (“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”), an audible is called for Mike D’Antoni, the man painted as the distant second choice. There’s a reason this franchise has flourished in Hollywood.

Given how “We want Phil” chants have echoed through Staples Center the past two days, I know this decision will leave many fans disappointed. Each of Jackson’s stints in L.A. have featured multiple championships, and this is a team built to immediately carry that tradition. In theory, what’s not to like?

However, something about hiring Jackson always struck me as overly familiar. Predictable. A bit too convenient. You could hear the wheels turning inside the heads of fans, media and players alike. "Phil is available. ... He lives in the South Bay. ... Eleven titles. ... Zen Master. ... Of course he's the guy."

Except, of course, most complex situations typically don't resolve in ready-made, neat solutions. And I wasn’t entirely convinced another go-round with Phil was quite the slam dunk most people thought.

To begin with, the seamless-return narrative was exaggerated. Only five current Lakers players have played under Jackson, and three had relatively short stints. A few notable highs notwithstanding, Metta World Peace’s time in PJ's system was, to say the least, turbulent. Steve Blake played one year under Jackson and was visibly uncomfortable in the triangle. During Devin Ebanks' lone campaign with Phil, the then-rookie rarely removed his warm-ups. Only Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have truly flourished in the triangle. As Bryant noted after Friday's win, the 1999-2000 squad won a title in its first triangular season, but it was also loaded with veterans who spent years playing against Jackson's Chicago Bulls, which created some degree of familiarity. This 2012-13 roster wouldn't figure to benefit from that luxury.

There was also the issue of Steve Nash, who remains the same odd fit in the triangle as he was in the Princeton. Either the Hall of Fame point guard would have endured another learning curve in a system that doesn't cater to his style, or Jackson would have been forced to tweak his offense to accommodate a type of player he's never coached. Both approaches could have meant more heads bumping, and at least one reason Brown was fired was to avoid such a scenario.

It's also worth remembering that Jackson's last season with the Lakers didn't end particularly well, beyond just the second-round sweep at the hands of Dallas. As I wrote at the time, 2010-11 wasn't a strong season for Jackson. He had to be cajoled into returning, then throughout the season often seemed disconnected with players, unable to reach and motivate them. The team appeared less prepared than it should have been at key moments, and that lack of poise reared its ugly head during a playoff run that went from wobbly to disastrous. Too often Jackson relied too heavily on his established approach rather than venturing out of his comfort zone to address what clearly wasn’t working with the team. Truth be told, he appeared tired of the NBA grind, like a man who realized he might have made a mistake in returning.

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Reviewing Sunday's 13-point win over Sacramento at Staples Center is tough on a couple of levels:

1. The Kings, particularly when short a suspended DeMarcus Cousins, aren't very good (preseason victories over the Lakers notwithstanding). The Lakers should beat them whether coached by Mike Brown, Bernie Bickerstaff or Bernie Brown. Particularly at home.

2. Everyone in the building is waiting around for what appears to be the inevitable return of Phil Jackson. Parsing Bickerstaff's offensive and defensive philosophies or his rotation is akin to dissecting the lesson plans of your substitute teacher. They'll both be gone before the answers matter.

(I say that not to diminish the work of Bickerstaff, who has stepped admirably into a very uncomfortable and awkward spot. It's clear he doesn't relish taking over, even temporarily, for a guy whose career he launched back in the day. Particularly while knowing his days are likely numbered, too. But he's a pro and is doing it anyway.)

Still, the bottom line is the Lakers have won consecutive games for the first time since Games 1 and 2 against Denver in the first round of last year's playoffs.

Here are four takeaways:

The Lakers again clamped down defensively.

Sacramento scored 48 points in the first half on a respectable 45.2 percent shooting from the floor, but coming out of the locker room, the Lakers grew stingier. In the third, the Kings were held to 22 points on only 32 percent from the floor (8-of-25). Dwight Howard was active underneath, contesting shots and picking up a block. Pau Gasol swatted two. The Lakers allowed five offensive rebounds but only one second-chance point. They sustained the energy into the fourth, putting the game away about halfway through the final stanza.

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With so much tension swirling around the Los Angeles Lakers since their poor start, it wasn't shocking to see a lot of energy channeled into a walloping Friday win over Golden State.

This was a team clearly in need of a cathartic release, and Mike Brown's dismissal, whether consciously or not, provided the outlet. Collectively, the roster exhaled.

But with those circumstances no longer providing fresh adrenaline, it will be interesting to see how the Lakers conduct themselves.

The Kings are dealing with their own struggles, but they have enough talented -- if likely mismatched -- players to potentially keep their hosts busy. With a serious test against San Antonio looming on Tuesday, it would be great if the Lakers capitalized on the chance to continue building momentum.

For perspective on Sacto, I conducted an IM exchange with James Ham from the TrueHoop network's Cowbell Kingdom. (It should also be noted our conversation took place before the NBA suspended DeMarcus Cousins two games for a confrontation Friday with Spurs commentator Sean Elliott.) Below is the transcript.

Andy Kamenetzky: Like the Lakers, the Kings have come out of the gate 2-4. What's been your general impression of the team?

James Ham: The Kings are a young team and while they are much improved, they still make a lot of mistakes. Like the Lakers, they have a lot of new rotational pieces and they are still searching for the right mix on the floor. At 2-4, the Kings shouldn't be down on themselves. They very well could be 3-3 or even 4-2. They have been extremely competitive in almost every game so far.

AK: Sacto's defensive numbers have been pretty good, despite coming off a season in which they were among the league's worst in most categories. Byproduct of a sample size, or has this team legitimately improved the lockdown?

JH: They have improved greatly on the defensive and it's only going to get better as they continue to build chemistry, especially on rotations. DeMarcus Cousins is developing into a very high-quality post defender, but he has had issues with foul trouble. The addition of James Johnson was huge, but the biggest difference so far this season has been the effort of Tyreke Evans. He is developing into an elite perimeter defender in the mold of Andre Iguodala.

AK: The Lakers have trouble hanging onto the ball and aren't the world's greatest team defending in transition. The Kings have done a good job inducing steals this season, but how successful are they at converting turnovers into points?

JH: The Kings should eat the Lakers alive in transition. Both Evans and Marcus Thornton are great finishers on the break. Isaiah Thomas and Aaron Brooks are lightning quick, and Jason Thompson is a very underrated big who can really get up and down the floor. The Kings like to push the tempo. They are much better in transition than they are in the half court. Defense and rebounding sets up the transition, so they need the defense to work to make the offense work in many cases.

Who will be coaching the Lakers tomorrow against the Kings? It sounds like Phil Jackson is ready to come back into the fold.

AK: Save an unexpectedly fast resolution, it will Bernie Bickerstaff ... who, by the way, boasts the greatest winning percentage in franchise history!

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Here’s how Mike Brown spent his penultimate night as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers:

The Lakers plane landed back in L.A. just after midnight Thursday following the team’s 95-86 road loss on Wednesday night in Utah that dropped its record to a Western Conference-worst 1-4.

The loss was not sitting well with Brown, so, true to his workaholic reputation, the coach made his way from the airport to the team’s practice facility in El Segundo to break down his squad’s latest lackluster performance by watching film.

The hours ticked by and Brown decided it was time for some shut-eye. He kept a bed at his office in El Segundo for such occasions, but he didn’t have any pillows.

Brown, weary from the start to the season, figured he had better get the best sleep he could -- pillows included -- and decided to check into a hotel. Only problem was, Brown went to not one, but two hotels in the area and both were booked solid.

It was the middle of the night and Brown knew he needed to be back in El Segundo for an early coaches meeting Thursday morning, so he figured the 45-minute drive down to his house in Anaheim Hills that would include another hour drive back in the morning with traffic on the roads wasn’t an option.

Brown drove to Staples Center. His office there had a bed, too. With pillows.

Mike might not have been in L.A. long, but there were plenty of stories like this one.

“Very hard working, maybe one of the hardest-working coaches that I’ve ever been around,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said at the news conference to announce Brown’s firing Friday.

It’s an earnest quality of Brown’s. He’s dedicated. He’s prepared. He pays attention to detail.

But you can work all you want and still not be the right man for the job.

Back in 2009, when I was writing a feature on Phil Jackson, he told me about a note that former Marquette coach Al McGuire once sent to him.

“It said, 'If you can't get it done in eight hours, you ain't gonna get it done,'" Jackson recalled. “So that was one of the things that I try to remember about basketball.”

That concept never sunk in with Brown. He beat the odds in coming from being a mediocre player at a mediocre college basketball program (University of San Diego) to work his way up from intern to video coordinator to scout to assistant coach to head coach of the league’s glamour franchise.

He couldn’t rely on his legendary playing days or nepotism connections or flashy good looks and personality to get him coaching jobs, like a lot of his peers do in the industry.

He did it by working hard. Or by “working his tail off,” which is one of Brown’s favorite phrases.

It was a remarkable journey Brown embarked on, no doubt. But somewhere along the way, his worker reputation became more of an annoyance to his players than an inspiration.

During last year’s lockout-shortened season, when rest was at a premium because of the compressed schedule, Brown would sometimes conduct contact practices on game days instead of simple, low-impact shootarounds. He picked up the nickname “All Day, Every Day” from his players for his reluctance to take a break.

The joke continued on Friday morning, Brown’s last day on the job.

"Me and Jordan Hill kind of were joking a little bit while we were doing therapy and said we might have a five-hour shootaround today,” Kobe Bryant said.

Many believe there is an argument to be made that Brown got a raw deal in L.A.

He joined the team when the league was about to enter its first lockout in 12 years. Pau Gasol, the team’s second-best player, was nearly traded on the eve of Brown’s first training camp, and it sabotaged the Spaniard’s psyche. Lamar Odom, the team’s emotional bellwether, was shipped out of town -- just as Derek Fisher, the team’s truest leader, was later in the season. Brown’s truncated Year 2 was marred by injuries to his key players (Dwight’s back, Kobe’s ankle, Nash’s leg) and he captained only five regular-season games to form his team before management pulled the plug.

But even in ideal circumstances, there’s still doubt about Brown.

One league source asked me on Friday night, “If Brown was always so prepared, how come he let his assistant coaches take over his huddles?”

Indeed, Brown often ceded control of the plays being drawn up during timeouts to his staff. It could be interpreted as trust. One source close to Brown said he had no problem doing it because he was “egoless.” But it could also be interpreted as weakness.

There’s a certain charisma that one needs to be a head coach in the NBA, especially for a team like the Lakers with more outsized personalities on it than the cast of “Modern Family.”

Everyone who knows Brown thinks of him as a good man. There’s little he cares for in this world outside of basketball and his family. But good guys don’t always make good coaches.

Even if you took away all the adverse circumstances that Brown had to contend with in L.A., he made mistakes that were his own doing.

Last season, he spent what little practice time the team had hammering away at his defensive concepts, and the Lakers’ offense suffered greatly because of it. Brown was smart enough to focus his efforts on offense this past offseason. He approached Bryant in the postgame locker room in Oklahoma City after L.A. was bounced from the playoffs in Game 5 of the second round to get his blessing to pursue a new Princeton-style offense. But when the Princeton was sputtering early on this year, he refused to keep it simple during the adjustment period.

He’ll look back at that decision as his biggest failure during his time with the Lakers. But there were others.

He vowed to cut Bryant’s minutes down last season, then turned around and kept Bryant out on the floor for 40-plus minutes with regularity. His first major adjustment to the lineup, bringing Metta World Peace off the bench, was abandoned just a handful of games into the season. He shuffled his rotations seemingly haphazardly. Sure, it paid off with his instinct insertion of Jordan Hill into the lineup late last season. But the same unsettled rotation pattern also rendered free-agent signee Josh McRoberts virtually useless last year, and it appeared Jodie Meeks was headed toward the same fate.

Even having said all that, it surely wasn’t an easy decision for the Lakers’ front office to let Brown go. Even though his players rolled their eyes when he’d plant a kiss on their forehead to punctuate his appreciation and even when media members would tune him out when he’d break out his hokey act of actually tapping his fist against his forehead when he said the phrase “knock on wood” (and he did that a lot), you don’t root for genuinely nice people to fail. You just don’t.

But winning has nothing to do with being nice. It just doesn’t.

So when Kupchak, executive vice president Jim Buss and Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss laid their heads down on their pillows Friday night after a whirlwind day, you have to think they were able to get a good, guilt-free night’s sleep.

The hard worker just wasn’t working anymore. They made the right call.

Watching the following videos of Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard after Friday's 101-77 win over the Golden State Warriors, a few things are abundantly clear.

1) Mike Brown's dismissal created a very emotionally draining set of circumstances for his former players to play through. Even if, as I've long suspected, they never fully bought into Brown as a coach, they certainly liked him as a person and recognized the human element at play. This may have been the Lakers' best performance of the season, but it wasn't an easy night.

2) Kobe really wants a third go-around with Phil Jackson. I mean, he really wants it. That's not to doubt the sincerity of his endorsements of Mike D'Antoni and Brian Shaw. He has long-standing, strong relationships with both and I genuinely believe he'd be happy were either hired. There are probably other names that would also earn his thumbs up, too. But there's no question Phil is his first choice. Just talk of a reunion has Bryant licking his chops.

3) Howard took lessons from The Dwightmare to heart. Unless alone with Mitch Kupchak in an office previously swept for bugs, dude wisely ain't touching "Who replaces Brown?" with a 10-foot pole.

4) Kobe is familiar with the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon."

Kobe Bryant, on Mike Brown's dismissal:

Kobe, on his relationship with Phil Jackson:

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