Stephen Jackson says Bobcats 'needed change' from Coach Brown
Ace guard Stephen Jackson has been quite vehement in expressing his pleasure, ever since Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown was axed by the Charlotte Bobcats.
On Sunday the 10-year pro, who was ironically brought into the Bobcats ranks by Brown last season, struck again.
Jackson implied that Charlotte's lacklustre 9-19 start, thronged with blow-out losses, came as the players resisted the demanding Brown's lay back and wait - offensive style of play.
"It's kind of like losing a team. Nobody wanted to play no more," Jackson said. "Everybody wanted to play a different style than we were playing. We didn't agree with what was going on. Obviously, it wasn't working, so we needed a change. We had to figure
something out."
A career that has witnessed him masterminding quick turnarounds, Larry Brown took over the reins of the stumbling Charlotte outfit last season. The legendary coach, in his record ninth coaching stint, turned their season on its head. He made a couple of
block-buster moves, which included Jackson's acquisition in a November 2009 trade with Golden State. The Bobcats finished with a 44-38 record, and marked the first time ever the franchise made it to the playoffs.
However, after being blown away by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs, things started to turn sour under the well-travelled Brown.
Brown’s style of play demanded a well oiled offence, which struck when given an opportunity and mostly relied on slowing down the game. Jordan on the other hand, was more intent on introducing younger players, to bring more energy to the game. His decisions
were also driven by financial constraints the franchise was facing coming into this season.
Bobcats’ owner Michael Jordan did not re-sign point guard Raymond Felton, and also traded Tyson Chandler essentially to slip under the luxury tax threshold. The moves left Charlotte with a younger team; one that didn't mesh with Brown's precision offence.
A lacklustre start to the season that was marred by a string of low-key performances added fodder to fire. The listless displays of the team left the legendary coach frustrated and he publicly criticised the players on a number of occasions. A 31-12 fourth
quarter meltdown against the Oklahoma City Thunders on 22 Dec., which preceded a four match losing streak, proved to be the last straw.
Jordan fired Brown on the same night and brought in interim coach Paul Silas.
Silas introduced a more attacking style of play, a move that definitely worked well with young team. The Bobcats have gone 4-2 since under Silas and seem to be enjoying his ‘run and have fun’ tactics. In the last six games, the Bobcats have crossed the 100-point
threshold four times.
"We're younger and we have to play a little faster," Jackson said. "The makeup of the team is different, and I think now with Paul as coach the young guys have more confidence to go out there and play basketball, and not worry about coming out of the game."
The prolific guard, who notched up a double-double to spearhead his franchise to a 104-89 victory against the Washington Wizards on Saturday night however, had some empathy for the former coach.
"You can't blame Coach Brown because we have to play the games," Jackson said. "But at the end of the day, when you make a change like that it has the domino effect of getting everybody up and loving the game. It's definitely worked so far."
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