After another disappointing bankruptcy, head coach Frank Vogel‘s chair at the Los Angeles Lakers seems to be wobbling again. In the final minutes of the game against the Pacers, the 48-year-old completely dispensed with Russell Westbrook, who apparently did not like the decision at all.
“I wanted to let the guys play who I believed could bring us the win,” Vogel explained after the 104:111 loss to the Pacers why he gave up his point guard in the last four minutes of the game.
Westbrook was once again pale with 14 points and 3 assists at 5/17 from the field (at least 4/6 threes). In the fourth quarter, the Lakers disintegrated – but of course not only because of Westbrook – into their individual parts. The section went 35:24 to the Pacers, who made the fourth Lakers bankruptcy from the past five games perfect.
Westbrook then left the arena without speaking to the media. He should also be loud in postgame conversations with the team ESPN have not participated. Teammate LeBron James indicated that Vogel’s benching didn’t go over well with the 33-year-old. Carmelo Anthony commented diplomatically on the cause: “I don’t think it’s something personal, but it’s a change, I know what he’s going through, I’ve experienced it before.”
When Westbrook was benched, however, Coach Vogel probably had the backing of the front office, as Dave McMenamin (ESPN) reported. The organization supports his hard line against the superstar, so Vogel has been thinking about putting Westbrook on the bench in tight games for weeks. An anonymous source described the message from management to the coaching staff: “Do what you have to do.”
LeBron James: “Coaching Staff is great”
Coach Vogel meanwhile emphasized that “everyone” is responsible for this defeat. “We have to coach better. We have to play better. Everything has to get better.” According to media reports, Vogel was already about to be released at the weekend.
Like Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports It has now been reported that the Lakers will not make any personnel changes on the sidelines immediately after the Pacers bankruptcy. Vogel will probably travel to Orlando with the Lakers, where the away game against the Magic is scheduled for Saturday night.
After all, Vogel received support from LeBron, who jumped to his coach’s side: “The coaching staff is great. They have put us in a position to be successful.” But he didn’t want to say much more about Vogel’s job status. He had said before the game that he didn’t feel under any special observation: “I’m very focused on the upcoming tasks, that’s how I’ve always done it.”
The Lakers are facing a difficult away trip to the West Coast. After the relatively easy task against the Magic, the Lakers are also guests in Miami, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Atlanta in the coming weeks. With a record of 22-23, the Lakers are only eighth in the Western Conference.
