Rodman Goes To Hollywood:
West Valley College
By Michael Saltzman
With the addition of Carmen Electra's husband to their lineup, the Lakers do gain toughness. However, that doesn't mean they are the front-runners to win the NBA title.
The distraction of whether or not Electra's husband would join the team is no excuse for their three game losing streak.
In response to their pitiful play, the front office made a bold move in the firing of Coach Del Harris.
Harris was not the coach that would lead the Lakers back to titletown, but he should have been canned before the season.
The Lakers knew that he did not have the capability to run their team. Harris is a soft coach who lets his players do their own thing. That is not what they need.
The Lakers need a tough guy, a no nonsense guy. A guy like Rick Pitino, Rick Majerus, or even former coach Pat Riley. There aren't too many coaches like that that are avaialable.
Shaquille O'neal has never had a coach like that and therefore has never won a title. Kobe Bryant has as much talent as any young player in basketball but needs that holler every now and then to keep him focused.
The team still lacks a three point threat, which they're trying to get in trade talks with Glen Rice, and they don't have the chemistry of an Indiana or Utah.
When Robert Horry and Rick Fox start asking for playing time, it will only be another problem. And now the hardest player to handle has joined their ballclub.
How will all these problems be controlled with an interim coach? Assistant coaches Kurt Rambis and Larry Drew are the possible replacements for Harris.
Rambis, the frontrunner according to David Aldridge of ESPN, would be the better choice. He is a former Laker who played under Riley in their championship years of the 1980's.
If they brought that would give the underachievers in "La La Land" a shot.
In the new era of Jordanless basketball in the NBA, many teams have a new sense of confidence. Now that the hardest worker in pro basketball is gone, teams are now trying to win a title.
Chicago's domination made teams give up in the Eastern Conference of going to the finals. They knew they had no chance. As for the Western Conference, just getting there was enough.
Jordan's absence has rejuvinated the remaining teams. But L.A. is not one of the teams that will be in the 1999 NBA Finals.
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