LINK to previous installment in the seriesWhen NBA executives scoffed at Bill Sharman's plans to turn the Los Angeles Lakers soft and porous defense into a league-leading defense, one player fueled their skepticism. When outgoing Laker coach Joe Mullaney openly ridiculed talk of turning the Los Angeles Lakers slow and plodding offense into a fast-breaking machine, one player fueled his skepticism. When NBA pundits described the Lakers as a team whose championship aspirations had set with ...