Mike Brown was fired as Lakers coach after a 1-4 start in the 2012-13 season. (GETTY IMAGES)

So, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to fire Mike Brown on Friday afternoon just 71 games into his Laker coaching career.

I thought it was a horrible time to make the move, to be brutally honest. The Lakers had several new key players (Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Antawn Jamison) and a brand new system to install, the Princeton offense. Howard’s clearly not 100% yet, Nash got hurt and Jamison’s playing time was severely limited. That last one is the only real problem I had with Brown, his substitution pattern was highly questionable.

There is no way Bernie Bickerstaff is the permanent replacement and L.A. general manager Mitch Kupchak confirmed that at the press conference. So, let’s take a look at the options to replace Brown:

Phil Jackson

This is the one Lakers fans want to take place. NBA insiders are mixed on whether or not he would come back. The fact Howard is asking for Jackson to return has to be an ego booster for Phil, and he is reportedly in good physical health. Bringing back the Zen-master for a third time would be ideal because he is familiar with most of the players and Howard would give him one of the best big men he has ever had.

Mike D’Antoni

D’Antoni would bring a high-octane offense and has experience coaching Steve Nash in Phoenix and Kobe in the Olympics, but it just wouldn’t be that feasible to run older players like Kobe, Nash, and Pau Gasol ragged. They wouldn’t have much left in the tank for the postseason. However, he and Jackson have to be the favorites to be the Lakers’ next coach.

Nate McMillan

McMillan doesn’t have a flashy career coaching record. He has won just 51.4% of his 930 career games, but when you look a little closer it isn’t a big deal. Not when he coached in Seattle at the end of Gary Payton’s tenure there and they went into rebuild mode. And he was the architect of rebuilding the Trail Blazers, winning just 21 and 32 games the first two years, but they improved enough to win 54 games.

Byron Scott has only won 45.8% of his games, but very few people would say he can’t coach. Very few coaches that take over reclamation projects post gaudy win-loss records. The knock on him is his playoff record (just 14 wins and 20 losses), but he has never had the talent he would have in L.A.

Brian Shaw was the smart choice when Phil walked away, but it’s unlikely Shaw would return after the way things ended before. And I just don’t see Jerry Sloan coming to Los Angeles after the way his tenure ended in Utah with Deron Williams.

Despite my initial reaction when I heard Brown was fired, I think Jackson will see the moves the Lakers made in the offseason and ultimately decide to come back. Especially, if Jeanie Buss has anything to say about it. Women have their ways of getting what they want.

Darren Jacks is a regular contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. Send him an email at: djroxalot@hotmail.com

Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy had a major breakthrough in Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round series against the Mavericks. (US PRESSWIRE)

Just a few days removed from his postgame meltdown in which he questioned his coach for not giving him enough minutes, Brandon Roy is officially back as an NBA superstar.

With his surgically repaired knees holding up just fine, Roy delivered one of the greatest fourth-quarter performances in playoff history when he carried the Trail Blazers to a come-from-behind win against the shell-shocked Mavericks, 84-82.

Roy, who was 9-of-13 from the field in 24 minutes, scored 18 of his 24 points in the fourth, a quarter in which the Blazers – who trailed by as much as 23 points in the second – outscored the Mavs 40-15.

“After what I’ve been through this year, there were times when I didn’t know if I’d ever play basketball again,” Roy said after the game. “When we were down 20 points, I had to step up my play. I had nothing to lose. It was a special night, and I’ll remember it forever.”

With 39.2 seconds left, Roy made a go-ahead bank shot over Shawn Marion that gave the Trail Blazers an 84-82 lead. Dallas had an opportunity regain the lead, but Jason Kidd’s wide-open 3-pointer sailed wide right and didn’t draw iron. Portland became the third NBA team in the shot clock era to win a playoff game when trailing by 18 points or more heading into the fourth quarter. The series is now tied at 2 apiece.

“Brandon just did a great job of being poised,” said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. “There is nobody, including Brandon Roy, that wants to see him on the floor as much as I do. We all up here in Portland know what he’s capable of doing, and tonight was the Brandon Roy of old. I mean he took the game on his shoulders and carried the team, willed the team, to a win.

“In the fourth quarter, I saw the Brandon of old. I mean he wasn’t passing the ball. He was gonna take the shot and he was gonna live with the result.”

McMillan added: “You could just see it in his eyes that he was going to take control of this game.”

Roy’s incredible performance wasn’t lost on his peers.

Chris Paul posted on his Twitter page: “Too happy for B.Roy! Really good dude and unstoppable when he’s feeling good… He deserves the spotlight. True Leader!”

Quentin Richardson tweeted: “S/O to B-Roy!! Dude did his thing out there tonite. Especially after what he’s gone thru wit the injuries. He was amazing out there tonite!