Kobe Bryant pleased with Coach Brown's direct approach

After the Lakers' exhibition loss to the Clippers on Monday, Coach Mike Brown pointed out everyone's defensive lapses, even Kobe Bryant's.

In fact, the new coach raised eyebrows when he was pointedly critical of Bryant's poor defensive play in the preseason opener. Brown wasn't happy when Bryant didn't get in position quick enough to stop Clippers' Chauncey Billups from burying a 3-pointer in the third quarter. After the game, he said the Bryant was "as guilty as everybody else at not contesting shots."

Was Bryant upset by Brown's comments? Not in the least.

"They're the coaches," Bryant said after Tuesday's practice at the El Segundo facility. "We're here to be coached. I'm here to be coached just like everybody else, you know what I mean? It's important for everybody to understand that.

"If I make a mistake, it's the coach's job to correct that. You can't be sensitive or a baby. You're here to win. That's his job. I would upset if he was just letting me skate through things.

"You make mistakes, it's the coach's job to point that out. If he can't point that out to me, he has no chance of pointing it out to anybody else."

Bryant said Brown's hardline approached is different than what he has heard about the former Cleveland Cavaliers coach. Different in a good way.

"What I heard about him was he was a pushover, doesn't say what he's thinking," Bryant said. "I haven't seen that at all. He's been the complete opposite. He's been detail-oriented. He's been up front and open and honest. He praises guys when they do well. He jumps on them when they're messing up right away. He does that me. He does that with Pau (Gasol). He does that with (Devin) Ebanks. There's no difference.

"I've been extremely, extremely surprised and very, very pleased about that."



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