Frank Vogel, and his time with the Lakers is at the most dangerous point since he was hired as coach in 2019. And he wanted to make sure everyone knew it.
“We get the job done every day,” he said before his team beat the Utah Jazz on Monday.
Correction:
2:36 p.m. in. 19, 2022An earlier version of this story ran online with details about the location and details of the Lakers’ coaches meetings which were incorrect. They’ve been corrected.
The “we” Vogel was talking about in this case was not LeBron James or Russell Westbrook or the recovered Anthony Davis. He was referring to the people in his direct team: his coaches tasked with making the most of a depleted squad as they deal with injuries, age and positive cases of COVID-19.
“The coaching staff works tirelessly, okay, both on post-match analysis, meeting with our players individually to show them ways they need to be better, to reinforce what they did well, and they work tirelessly on coming up with game plans.” Vogel said. “With that, the margin of error is smaller. We have to be very strict with all the coverages that are made. And we know how to build an elite defense. It hasn’t taken shape with this group yet, but we’re still working.
“And when you work on something, you’re going to get better.”
The statement was made to the media but could well have been directed at Lakers executives Rob Pelinka, Kurt and Linda Rambis and ultimately Jeanie Buss. They are the ones who hold Vogel’s fate in their hands, and according to NBA insiders, the coach was being seriously evaluated.
However, people with knowledge of the situation insist that there are “no plans at the moment” to replace Vogel, a sign that the coach has navigated through the latest drama surrounding his position.
Still, the temperature has been rising.
According to some sources, Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, and Kurt Rambis, the team’s senior basketball adviser, met with Vogel and assistant coach David Fizdale after last week’s loss to the Kings. of Sacramento to discuss ways to turn things around. It was the third time the steering group had met in recent days.
The Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday by 37 points, their worst loss of the season, putting more pressure on Vogel.
Rambis attended the Lakers’ pregame coaches’ meeting Monday. Rambis has regularly attended coaches’ meetings this season and has advocated for the Lakers to use more traditional strategies.
Vogel has apparently been hanging by a thread all season, beginning with lukewarm support for a one-year contract extension last summer. When asked in early December about the coach being pressured, James said it was normal.
“Criticism comes with the job, you know?” James said on December 6. “Frank is a strong-minded guy. They have a great coaching staff. And we, as his players, have to do a better job of going out there and producing on the floor. … Frank doesn’t care and neither do we what people say.”
However, after the Lakers’ 101-95 victory over the Jazz on Monday, their best win of the season, The Athletic reported that Vogel’s job was in jeopardy. People with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Times that the loss to Utah could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
In his first year with the team, Vogel led the Lakers through the most calamitous NBA season ever: a preseason controversy in China, the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, a pandemic season, and finally , an NBA championship won inside a bubble of isolation in Orlando.
Last season, the Lakers were near the top of the standings before injuries to Davis and James set the stage for a first-round playoff exit against the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns. This season, with a revamped roster especially with the addition of Westbrook, the Lakers have floundered, sitting seventh in the West, unable to stay healthy or create continuity due to injuries, again, to James and Davis. Those absences were compounded by an organization-wide COVID outbreak and limited access to key players, including Kendrick Nunn, who has yet to play this season.
The chaos created by the Lakers’ mediocrity – the team is 22-22 and hovering around .500 all season – has forced the team to try to reinvent its identity on multiple occasions. Pelinka said before the season that the Lakers’ plans, in part, were to return to the traditional center-anchoring lineups the Lakers used in their run to the title.
Westbrook’s struggles earlier in the season, combined with another serious injury to Davis — who hasn’t played since mid-December — pushed the Lakers into smaller lineups, with the team using James as their center. The changes fired up the Lakers’ offense: His 117 points per 100 possessions were third in the NBA over the past 10 games. In the same stretch, starting with James’ first start at center, the Lakers’ defense is 24th. So Vogel pushed to use Dwight Howard against Utah in an effort to stop the steep decline defensively.
Their defensive stats were greatly aided by the team’s performance against the Jazz. In the previous three games, the Lakers had given up at least 125 points. Following Denver’s 133-96 victory on Saturday, Westbrook and Howard pointed to their team’s lack of defensive effort. Magic Johnson lashed out at the team on Twitter, and after not speaking to the media, James apologized to Lakers fans for the performance the next day.
“I didn’t like what was going to come out of my mouth,” James said two days later about skipping Saturday’s postgame interview. “So I decided not to talk to you.”
He said his tweet apologizing to Lakers fans wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.
“We just weren’t playing to our ability and giving it our best effort,” James said Monday. “So that starts with me being the team leader, and for that I take responsibility and let Laker Nation know. It’s not about anyone, it’s about our fans and the people who travel and die with us every day. Let them know that I know and that it won’t happen again.”
Against the Jazz, the Lakers seemed like a more effective version of themselves. They got word that Davis had been cleared to begin full-contact workouts, essentially the last hurdle in his comeback from a sprained left knee. Most importantly, the Lakers played with the effort, energy and intensity that Vogel and his coaches have demanded but haven’t always delivered.
“We’re really taking it one game at a time while AD is out and trying to get as many wins as we can,” Vogel said. “But I think there’s a great lesson to be learned with this group that we’re not going anywhere without being a great defensive team. Our boys have finally focused… and when we play like this we know we can beat anyone”.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are trying to find help, though their options seem limited. According to people with knowledge of the situation, the team is trading Talen Horton-Tucker, 21, in the swap deals. Rival GMs believe the Lakers value Horton-Tucker, but they lack the mid-range contracts needed to close a deal to improve their roster and understand no meaningful trade is going to happen without him.
All this uncertainty makes NBA experts focus on Vogel’s employment situation. Monday’s victory, they say, is more of a suspension than a leniency. Although there are no current plans to make a change, future plans depend on the results.
COMING SOON
VS. INDIANA
When: Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
In the air: TV: Spectrum SportsNet; Radio: 710, 1330
Upgrade: The Pacers (14-29) are coming off a 139-133 loss to the Clippers and have lost 10 of their last 11 games, with the only victory coming against the Jazz.
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