Ric Bucher's post on Basketball | Latest updates on Sulia

For those wondering why the Lakers' coaching change has had no impact on the team's fortunes, one big reason is,

according to sources, that an ill Dr. Jerry Buss ordered the firing, posthaste, from his hospital bed, without concern about who might replace him. The move, hasty and unplanned as it might be, was apparently supported by voices outside the organization who thought it would open the door for Phil Jackson to return. But no one in the front office intended to move on Brown that quickly and, thus, no succession plan was in place. They were in full scramble mode. Teams usually consider their team's health and the schedule and make a coaching change at optimal times -- lots of winnable home games, lots of practice time, coinciding with a star returning to the floor -- to make the change look like it provided a solution and aid in getting the players to buy into the new system. Instead, the Lakers made the move at the worst time. Interim Bernie Bickerstaff got the benefit of an easy homestand (4 games in 8 days), whereas the Lakers have not had more than one day between games at home since Mike D'Antoni took to the bench and won't until after they return from the current trip next week. Steve Nash has yet to play since D'Antoni came on board and Pau Gasol, already dinged up, limped through seven games before shutting it down. When I look at the circumstances, the Lakers' problems aren't about D'Antoni's system or Pau not playing in the post or Jim Buss not wanting to re-hire Phil. This is about oversized expectations not being instantly met and an ill-timed panic move that was supposed to magically make everything better. Panic moves rarely do.