The new-look Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a rough start this season, their first with LeBron James. While all three losses have come against tough Western Conference competition -- the Trail Blazers, Rockets and Spurs -- those are the type of games the team needs to win as they hope to return to the playoffs.
Along with the losses, the Lakers have also been involved in a massive brawl. Brandon Ingram (four games) and Rajon Rondo (three games) were both suspended for their roles in the incident, which saw numerous punches landed from both sides.
Of course, it's still very early in the season, but with the losses and fight put together, this is absolutely not the start the Lakers envisioned to their new era. In fact, it's so bad that sportsbooks are already viewing Luke Walton as being on the hot seat. As of Tuesday, Walton had the best odds -- per Bovada -- to be the first NBA coach fired this season.
Who will be the first coach to leave their post in the 2018-2019 NBA Season?
- Luke Walton 7/4
- Tom Thibodeau 2/1
- Fred Hoiberg 5/1
- Billy Donovan 15/2
- Scott Brooks 10/1
- Dave Joerger 12/1
- Tyronn Lue 12/1
- Terry Stotts 12/1
Now, it's extremely unlikely that the Lakers would overreact and fire Walton this early in the season, no matter how many people might fire off tweets with the hashtag "#FireLuke." When the Suns fired Earl Watson after an 0-3 start last season, that was the second-fastest firing of a coach in NBA history.
But given how much pressure is on this Lakers team to win now that they have LeBron, this is going to be a topic all season long. Or at least until they figure things out and start playing like a playoff team. That might not be fair to Walton, but that's how the game goes.
