Mike Brown

Former Lakers coach Mike Brown said Dwight Howard isn't close to his former self. "He's definitely not 100%. He still has a ways to go until he's able to be the old Dwight," said Mike Brown on ESPN Radio's " The Herd With Colin Cowherd . " Howard underwent back surgery in April but rushed back to start the season on time. The Lakers center has been open about how difficult it has been to play this year. "At this point where he is in his recovery, he's better than most centers to ever play the game anyway," Brown said.

The Lakers let go of Coach Mike Brown on Friday, stunning the players who were informed by General Manager Mitch Kupchak at what was supposed to be the team's standard game-day shoot-around. "I mean, it was just shocking to me," said forward Jordan Hill.  "I've never experienced anything like that.  I pulled into practice, and I saw coach.  We walked in together.  It was just a normal day. " "Then 20 minutes later we got the news," continued Hill.  "It was definitely unexpected.

The Lakers made an uncharacteristically quick move Friday, firing coach Mike Brown five games into the season. Times NBA editor Barry Stavro and sportswriter Lisa Dillman joined Sports Editor Mike James for a chat to fill in some of the blanks around this surprising development. Kobe Bryant has said he felt bad for the coach and had backed him during their early-season struggles. The Lakers lost all eight preseason games, then lost four of  five games to open the regular season.

Just when it appeared Mike Brown finally gave his players enough freedom on offense, Kobe Bryant took advantage of the autonomy. It worked at first. Only days removed from suffering a concussion, broken nose and whiplash in his neck, Bryant still managed to average 34 points in his first three games wearing a plastic mask. It looked heroic that Bryant remained prolific despite the pain. Most importantly, it remained justifiable considering Bryant did so on a 38-of-70 clip, while his teammates fed off his energy.

Time after time, Kobe Bryant's shot fell short of the basket. But that hardly phased Lakers Coach Mike Brown. He believed, at some point, that Bryant's shots would eventually fall. They usually do. Yes, it proved to be a tough balancing act in the Lakers' 88-85 victory Saturday over the New Orleans Hornets. Bryant hit what proved to be the game-winning shot  -- a 26 foot three-pointer with 21 seconds left -- but he didn't make his first shot of the game until his 16th attempt.

Once the final minutes tick down, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James remain a study in contrasts. Bryant looks to make the game-winner, no matter the obstacles: the shot clock winding down, poorly run offense, swarm of double teams. Usually nothing stops Bryant from taking the last shot. A courageous act for some, selfishness for others. James looks to the make the correct basketball play, no matter how much the public expects him to take the final shot. If he sees a double team, James finds the open guy, such as when he found Udonis Haslem open for a 16-footer in the Heat's loss Friday to Utah.

The Lakers are heading into what could be their last game of the 2011-2012 season. In Magic Johnson's eyes, the Lakers' Game 7 matchup Saturday night at Staples Center could also mark Mike Brown's last game as the Lakers coach. But as Brown stood among a group of reporters at Saturday's morning shoot-around, he gave the impression that he's hardly concerned about the prediction Johnson shared Friday night as an ESPN NBA analyst. "Magic's a good guy and he's entitled to his opinion," Brown said.

In between quarters, Andrew Bynum rested his legs and received some words of wisdom. He could've aptly described it as "getting his Zen on," as he did last week on why he doesn't participate in team huddles. But this had nothing to do with meditating or thinking about former Lakers Coach Phil Jackson. It had everything to do with following a simple piece of advice during the Lakers-Rockets game. He had picked up a technical foul late in the third quarter and the Lakers coaching staff feared he'd get another.

The moment Mike Brown walks into his Anaheim Hills home following a Lakers game, his sons greet him with persistent questions.  You know, the ones involving  trade rumors, why the Lakers won or lost and why Brown benched Kobe Bryant late in the game Sunday against Memphis. Brown escaped that scrutiny, however, after  the Lakers' 104-101 win Tuesday over the Golden State Warriors. Thankfully for him, he didn't have to explain benching Andrew Bynum for most of the second half after the center launched an ill-advised three-point attempt.

Mike Brown, who has taken Cleveland to the postseason in each of his four seasons, on Monday was selected the NBA coach of the year in a vote of sportswriters and broadcasters. Brown led the Cavaliers to a 66-16 regular-season record, a Central Division title and the No. 1 overall seeding in the playoffs. With LeBron James and the other Cavaliers standing behind him and his coaching staff seated a few feet away, Brown accepted the Red Auerbach Trophy.