Fatigue no excuse for Bobcats

Larry Brown doesn’t generally make excuses and he doesn’t like it when others make excuses for him.

          That led to Brown cutting off Bobcats sideline reporter Stephanie Ready in mid-sentence following the 30-point loss in Cleveland. Stephanie suggested, in phrasing her question, that fatigue from the previous night’s overtime victory over the Boston Celtics was a factor Wednesday.

          Waving his hand and shaking his head, Brown would have none of it, and that’s not the first time Brown has cut off any attempt to rationalize a poor performance.

          Brown’s coaching style is about holding people accountable. It’s authoritative and old-school. I think he’s concerned that by making excuses for his players publicly, he gives license to them excusing themselves privately.

          It seems harsh, but I get where he’d arrive at this view. Larry entertained several reporters the other night with ABA stories about playing four games in four nights and playing on opposite sides of the country on consecutive nights.

          This wasn’t one of those back-in-my-day harangues. It was simply Larry laughing at the craziness of those times.

          But I can sure see why, with that history, he’d expect his players to compete every night in this age of charter flights and five-star hotels.