The Indiana Pacers’ Frank Vogel has been fired, and he’s letting everyone know what he thinks of LeBron James’ new team – the Lakers.
Frank Vogel, the coach of the Indiana Pacers, fired a thinly veiled shot at LeBron James and his Lakers Superfriends. Vogel said “I’m not going to get into what he’s trying to do,” but went on to say that it was “disrespectful” for James to have three other All-Stars on his team.
It’s easy to visualize Los Angeles Lakers coach Vogel, Frank bouncing a stress ball against the wall in his office at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California. He’s undoubtedly perplexed as to how a squad comprised of four players of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team could be so bad. He’s probably also thinking whether there are any boxes where he can easily take his belongings.
Unless he’s deliberately tossing whatever he can get his hands on. This wasn’t intended to happen. Rob Pelinka overhauled the squad after last season’s injury-plagued championship defense. On Dec. 9, the Lakers squandered a nine-point lead and lost 108–95 to a Memphis Grizzlies team that was without its superstar, point guard Ja Morant, in what has become their signature move this season.
The Lakers are unable to defeat their opponents.
After another come-from-behind defeat, Lakers coach Frank Vogel took a sly swipe at his star-studded squad. | Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
The defeat to Memphis on Dec. 9 didn’t even contribute to an alarming figure. After the loss, the Lakers are 13–13, with seven of those defeats coming in games in which they led by double digits.
Last season, LA went 42–30 and lost nine games when leading by double digits. Seven points after 26 games is concerning. The Lakers have grabbed loss from the jaws of victory in the following games:
- On October 19, the Warriors were defeated 121–114 at home by the Golden State Warriors (led by 10 with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter)
- The Oklahoma City Thunder were defeated 123–115 on October 27. (led by 26 with 3:28 to go in the first half)
- The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Thunder 107–104 at home on November 3rd (led by 19 with 6:21 remaining in the first half)
- On November 12th, they were defeated 107–83 at home by the Minnesota Timberwolves (led by 11 with 29.2 seconds left in the first quarter)
- On November 17, they were defeated 109–102 by the Milwaukee Bucks (led by 10 with five minutes to go in the first quarter)
- On November 19, they were defeated 130–108 by the Boston Celtics (led by 14 with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter)
- On November 26, the Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 141–137 in double overtime at home (led by 13 with 10:02 to go in regulation)
It’s the NBA, after all, and everyone makes a run. However, in four home defeats, LA has squandered double-digit leads. That’s the kind of thing that may agitate even the most devoted fan group.
The Lakers’ performance in Memphis did not surprise Frank Vogel.
*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden} html,bodyheight:100% img,spanposition:absolute;width:100% ;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyhe spanheight:1.5em;text-align:center;font:48px/1.5 sans-serif;color:white;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow
The Lakers have made such a habit of blowing leads this season that coach Frank Vogel didn’t even confess to being startled when his team went up 26–17 with 2:18 remaining in the first quarter.
According to a tweet from Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group, Vogel described an all-too-common sight:
“I wouldn’t describe myself as surprised. This year, I saw it with our group.”
Frank Vogel
Vogel stated the Lakers lost their concentration after getting out to a fast start, according to a tweet from Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.
“There was a little too much of a laid-back attitude,” Vogel added.
The Lakers are now sixth in the Western Conference after the defeat. However, they are currently 5.5 games behind the third-place Utah Jazz and 8.5 games behind the Warriors. Memphis sits two games ahead of LA in fourth place, having split the first two of their four planned encounters. On December 29, the Lakers return to FedExForum, while the Grizzlies visit the Sunny Acres Home for Aging Basketball Stars in Los Angeles on January 9.
LA needs to play with a new attitude, according to Anthony Davis.
*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden} html,bodyheight:100% img,spanposition:absolute;width:100% ;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyhe spanheight:1.5em;text-align:center;font:48px/1.5 sans-serif;color:white;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Anthony Davis stated the Grizzlies’ approach made the difference after the Lakers lost in Memphis.
“These guys already feel like underdogs when they come in,” Davis said, “particularly when they’re missing their best players.” “And we had to play as though we were underdogs.” Which, at this stage in the season, with the way we’ve been playing, we probably are.”
The Lakers have three additional members of the 75th-anniversary team: LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony, in addition to Davis. James has already missed 12 of the team’s 26 games due to injury and other absences. Davis was forced to sit out a game.
The objective of gathering such a large group of players, though, was to have the leadership and skill to dismantle teams. The Lakers are having trouble doing so.
Early on, defense was a major concern, but the Lakers have improved to 15th in the NBA with a defensive rating of 108.4. Their offense, on the other hand, has dropped to 23rd place, averaging only 106.8 points per 100 possessions. Los Angeles is 11th in the NBA in effective field goal percentage (52.9%), but they are 24th in the NBA in turnover rate (15.4%).
LA, according to conventional thought, will work things out. In 11 NBA seasons, Frank Vogel had a 411–353 record. He’s well-aware of what he’s doing. However, the Lakers need a sense of urgency. They’re a.500 squad that has performed like a team that isn’t even close to being that good. Their stars must quickly discover that huge names do not win games.
Basketball Reference and NBA.com provided the statistics.
RELATED: LeBron James’ 100th Career Triple-Double as the Lakers get humiliated by the Grizzlies without Ja Morant is Peak 2021–22 Lakers
Watch This Video-
Related Tag
- where was lebron james born
About The Author
