Don't Vote Jackson-Rambis For 2010!

The Lakers are toying around with the idea that Kurt Rambis could coach a number of road games next year in the spot of ailing Head Coach Phil Jackson.

I imagine the former glasses wearing, moustache having Rambis would be manning the bench for the long six or seven game roadies. I don't see Rambis coaching the team for more than 20 games.

However, I don't see this really working out for the Lake Show. After all, the hardest games to win are the ones on the road in hostile environments like in Portland, Utah, Boston, Cleveland, and :gulp: Portland (where they've lost eight straight).

Speaking of Portland...the one game that Rambis coached up in "Rip City," they lost, but more importantly, the game was severely mismanaged. Rambis blew his timeouts early and often, ala Vinny Del Negro, and his offensive sets coming out of the timeouts were predictable and easily defended.

I can just imagine Kobe on the road, looking at what Rambis draws up, and erasing everything he has on the board. "You call that a play. Just give me the damn ball and run a pick with me and Gasol!"

To win on the road you need the best out of every single one of your players. A coach needs ultimate focus from his players and all-out energy. The coach is needed among all else to handle the emotions and lead his players to victory. I don't see Kurt Rambis doing any of that.

I actually think that Brian Shaw would be a much better substitute than Rambis. After all, Rambis was 24-13 in the 1998-1999 season when he took over for fired coach Del Harris. The Lakers would then get swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Kobe seems to have a better rapport with his ex-teammate Shaw. They did win three championships together lest we forget, but does Kobe want Rambis to become the future head coach? He has a huge say over what happens with the organization. Would he rather have his beloved Coach K grab the reigns of the purple and gold army? If Kobe isn't on board with it, Rambis will go the way of Paul Westhead.

The Lakers have held the best road record in the NBA over the last two seasons (29-12 this year, 27-14 last year), but if Rambis coaches the team for a substantial amount of games, I don't see their road record getting any better, even if they do sign Ariza and Odom.

Listen, some Phil is better than more Phil, and I still believe that the Lakers can win a championship if they decide to go this route, but I don't believe that Kurt Rambis would be the ideal Lakers Head Coach.

After next season, the Lakers should take a harder look at Brian Shaw or try to lure Coach K back into the coaching fold. He proved that he could coach the best players in the world to a gold medal, just like Phil has proved 10x over that he can coach the best players in the world to an NBA Championship.

You're My Guy!