On January 20, Beijing time, the Lakers lost to the Pacers 104-111. In the first three quarters of the game, the Lakers once pulled the score to double digits, but the Pacers began to exert three teams in the fourth quarter of the game, reversing the score and finally reversing the victory over the Lakers. Throughout the game, James had 30 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, and Westbrook scored 14 points.
Previously, there was news that Vogel's coaching position was unstable, and lakers management had met with Vogel to discuss the current situation of the team. Today, according to Yahoo Sports reporter Chris Haynes, the Lakers will not make personnel changes at this time, and Frank Vogel will accompany the team to Orlando to lead the team to compete with the Magic. In the offseason, the Lakers introduced a number of veteran players in the free market, and the overall strength of the team has improved compared to last season, but due to the impact of player run-in and injuries, the Lakers' record this season is not good, and the team currently ranks eighth in the West with a record of 22 wins and 23 losses.
Today's game, Vogel withdrew Westbrook at a critical moment, a move that attracted a lot of fans, but Vogel's abandonment of Howard at a critical moment is the point of controversy. The Lakers have been using Howard as the starting player since the game against the Nuggets, but Vogel still hid Howard in the fourth quarter.
In this campaign, the Pacers' performance in the first three quarters was mediocre, but the team began to improve the overall defense in the fourth quarter, while increasing the impact on the Lakers' interior line, and Vogel was still sitting in the middle of the military tent at this time, did not use the big man guard, and was eventually taken away by the Pacers. In the last game against the Jazz, Vogel put Johnson at a crucial moment, and the latter did play the role of a surprise soldier, but considering that Gobert's defensive characteristics were different from Sabonis, Vogel still used the same strategy to deal with it, which was really inappropriate.