The Lakers New Head Coach Has a Lot of Weight to Shoulder

The Los Angeles Lakers have their new head coach, and he has the distinction of being the eighth former Lakers player who would go on to become the team’s head coach. That new coach is Luke Walton, who won two titles in three chances with the Shaq and Kobe Lakers, was an assistant coach with the 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, as well as with the 73-win 2016 squad, and also played two seasons under Bryon Scott, the man that Walton is replacing as Lakers coach, when Walton played for, and Scott coached the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2011-2013.

The fact that Walton is replacing Scott is not so surprising, as the Lakers have a history of looking inwards in order to fill positions within their organization. The surprising fact is that the Lakers actually hired Scott, considering that Scott had only amassed 4 winning seasons in his 13 years in coaching prior to joining the Lakers. Scott took over the post-Lebron Cavs, was gifted with Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters, and was only able to amass 19, 21 and 24 wins, which should have shown the Lakers that Scott was not the best coach for a team filled with young players and journeymen veterans.

However, Walton is the head coach now, and opinions seem to be split regarding what type of coach Walton will be. There are some who feel that Walton will use a similar style to the one that led the Warriors to the 2015 championship and a record 73 wins in 2016. Others believe that he will revert to the triangle offense, thus clearing the way for Phil Jackson to return to the Lakers organization in a front office capacity. Still others believe that Walton will be his own man with his own mind. More important that which style he runs, the most important factor will be if he can win and can win quickly in Los Angeles.

Many situations are in play with regards to the hiring of Walton. Will his hiring entice high-profile free agents into signing with the Lakers? Will he be able to reach the conference finals in his first season, thus allowing Jim Buss, and by default, Mitch Kupchak, to keep their jobs with the team? Will the young core of Russell, Randle, Clarkson, Nance, Brown, Black and Huertas develop, or even be with the team by the end of the 2017 season? These questions will all be answered by the end of the next basketball season, and Walton’s success or lack thereof will determine the outcomes to all of these scenarios, as well as whether or not Phil returns and takes his perceived rightful place alongside Jeanie Buss at the helm of the Lakers’ organization.

Never has a rookie head coach had so much placed on his shoulders. Aside from the fact that Walton will be the youngest coach in the league when he coaches his first game next season, the fate and future of the entire organization rests with Walton. However, that might have been the reason that he was hired without the team having interviewed another candidate. Many believe that he has the right stuff to turn the team around while being able to successfully manage the intense scrutiny that will come from holding one of the most high-profile positions within the Association. Whether or not Walton was the right choice for the job will be divulged during the 2017 NBA season.

The NFL Scouting Combine Doesn't Make Sense to Me

National Football League Draft Day will soon be here, and the NFL’s Scouting Combines are going on, but there are some things that I do not understand about the combines. I have watched a lot of football in my life, and there are drills and tests that are conducted at the combines that don’t seem to make sense to me, because I never seem to have seen those particular skills in actual games.

The standing broad jump will tell the decision makers how athletic a player is, but I have never seen a player at any position in a football game have to stand in one place and suddenly jump as far forward as they can. The vertical jump is about the same as the broad jump. Knowing how high a wide receiver or a defensive back can jump is important, but how important is it for an offensive lineman or for a quarterback to jump straight up in the air as high as they can?

I’ve never seen a quarterback need to move 225 pounds off of his chest numerous times, but leg press drills might tell me how strong a quarterback’s lower body is, which would be useful when in the grasp of a defender who is trying to sack a quarterback. The 40-yard dash tells me about top speed, but a 80-100 yard dash in pads will tell me if a player can hold their speed over a long distance or has the stamina to run the length of the field, as special teams players are often asked to do.  As we saw in Super Bowl XXVII, if Leon Lett had been able to maintain his speed over a longer distance, he might not have been caught from behind by Don BeeBe.

I understand why the NFL does what it does; because it can and because I have not been hired to make decisions to the contrary. I just don’t understand how or why some of the combine drills are important to playing football. If they were performed in pads, then maybe they would give, in my opinion, a better assessment of the players’ abilities.