After a dismal 1-4 start to the season, the Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Mike Brown and hired former Suns and Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni instead of retired 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson.

The move came as much of a surprise as many media sources reported that the chances that Jackson would return to the Lakers sidelines were well in the high 90’s.  

Rumors circulated regarding Jackson’s request to sit out shoot-arounds, possibly miss away games, and have a more prominent role in the Lakers front office.  

Instead, Mitch Kupchak and the Lakers front office chose to go in a much different direction, signing former head coach of the year award winner D’Antoni to a 3-year $12 million dollar contract.

D’Antoni is well known for his ability to maximize the potential of role players and an entertaining run and gun style of play.

D’Antoni has a long tenured relationship with Lakers point guard Steve Nash who won two MVP Awards while in Phoenix.

Kobe Bryant who grew watching 5-time Italian league champion D’Antoni play as a child, reportedly chose to wear jersey number eight because D’Antoni was his favorite player.

Many feel as though the Lakers in an up-tempo offense is a bad idea due to an aging roster.

Expect to see future NBA Hall of Famers Bryant, Nash, and Dwight Howard run circles around NBA defenses in the near future.  

Steve Nash, a bonafide ball-handler and accurate shooter, averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assist per game on a diminished Suns roster last season.  

After an efficient season in Phoenix last year without a go-to post presence, I predict that the relationship and chemistry between Nash and 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Champion Howard will evolve into a pick and roll massacre.  

Bryant, averaging 26.1 points per game this season, will use his supreme post game and his deadly jump shot to mesh perfectly with Nash’s pass first mentality.  

While defenses scramble in an attempt to contain the trilogy of Bryant, Nash, and Howard it would not come as a surprise to see role players like Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace accumulate several easy baskets in each contest.  

Teams coached by D’Antoni have emphasized the use of the fast break to score three pointers, getting shots off early in the shot clock, and being efficient as a team at the free throw line.  

The downside to D’Antoni’s philosophy is the defensive strategy or lack thereof.  

D’Antoni’s Suns and Knicks teams failed to play with any significant level of defensive intensity resulting in lackluster playoff performances.

During D’Antoni’s most recent coaching stint in New York, offensive oriented players Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony were criticized for being unenthusiastic on the defensive end as a result of D’Antoni’s offensive philosophy.  

From 05-08 the Phoenix Suns averaged 58 wins per season, but never went deep into the NBA playoffs.  

With the signing of Mike D’Antoni, the Lakers organization put their team in prime position to score a large quantity of baskets and have put Nash in a position to excel as the Lakers floor general.  

Overall, I feel that the new-identity Lakers will put all of the pieces together and make a strong run in the NBA Playoffs.  

• KALYN HOYLE, Opinions Editor