Phoenix on April 6 — Long before injuries left the Lakers in an endless predicament — first withdrew from the championship contenders sequence and then missed the playoffs altogether, Vogel realized there was a rift in the core of the lineup that brought Los Angeles its 18th championship trophy.
He realized it even before the first regular season game kicked off. "It doesn't look good." Vogel said in an interview with The Athletic on Tuesday.
What he said about bad may refer to any fiasco suffered by the Lakers, or it may refer to the set of lineups that the Lakers have used at various times of the season that look like a hodgepodge. But in fact, Vogel's concerns about the team began when James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook were actually combined, in October last year, when the Lakers had a 0-6 record in preseason.
"We were completely broken in pre-season and I was thinking, 'Okay, it's pre-season. But it still gave me a first impression of the squad and the players. Vogel gave a 30-minute phone interview tuesday.
But sometimes, something is enough at a glance.
The fiasco in the preseason portends a tumultuous season for the Lakers and a complete disappointment to have the most talented players in NBA history: They have four NBA 75th anniversary 75 superstars, and as many as six potential Inductance Inductions (of course, opinions may not be the same).
Despite having such a strong bloodline, they have always been in a passive position and have been defeated.
"Every game, we're playing against a healthier or more continuous team." Vogel said: "Or they are better than us in themselves, which means our squad has very little fault tolerance. ”
In a phone interview Tuesday night, Vogel gave a detailed review of his third season in charge of the Lakers — which many consider to be his last in Los Angeles. A few hours later, the Lakers lost 110-121 to the Phoenix Suns on the road while the tenth-placed Spurs beat the Nuggets. At this point, the Lakers' theoretical entry into the playoffs has also been completely closed, and with three regular season games remaining, their record is an embarrassing 31-48.
Throughout the year, Vogel thought the Lakers would reach the top of their form at the end of the season and then enter the playoffs with that momentum, but his expectations never materialized.
Because, this year's Lakers have no playoffs to play.
For Vogel, he set off with a lineup that didn't fit very well, and then had to make constant adjustments during the season due to covid-19 and injuries, and as of the time of the game against the Suns, 24 players had worn purple and gold jerseys for the Lakers this year, and Vogel had used 39 different starting lineups. Even he himself was part of it, missing six games last December for triggering a health and safety agreement.
The blueprint of James and Davis in the offseason was not realized, they recruited Laiwei Shao, wanted to form a big three, but regardless of the actual effect, the big three did not really take shape. The three of them have only played 21 games this season.
Asked if he had found the answer to the long-term success in so many squad combinations, Vogel said injuries prevented him from doing his best.
"We've never even had a steady 3 or 4 consecutive games. But even so, I sensed that our squad was flawed. Vogel said.
So Vogel was constantly adjusting, and mid-season when the team was healthy enough for Davis to play as a center, Vogel said: "This is what we should be." But Davis soon suffered his second major injury of the season and was again absent for a long time. So Vogel began his adjustment again.
"Actually, I'm more exploring than adjusting." Vogel admitted.
Two nights ago, when the Lakers lost to the Nuggets and were really forced to the edge of the cliff without a playoff, the coach, who had been in deep trouble for a year, made a final resistance at the press conference.
The Lakers and nuggets had a tight tie, but in the final moments, the Denvers pulled the gap apart, a loss that made Vogel look tired, saying he was proud of his team and that they fought to the end despite James' inability to play. When he said this, the emotion was hard to hide, and he patted the table lightly in frustration.
"When we really need it, we can't always overcome the difficulties and put a victory on the report card. It sucks. I tell these guys after every game, I'm proud of you guys, you guys worked hard, but the bad thing is that we lose. Vogel said.
For a championship coach, the reactions are very real, he has realized that his battered team is slowly improving, but the magnitude and progress are difficult to save this failed season, and the reason why he is so depressed is more likely that their progress has not caught up with the work that saved him in Los Angeles.
When the Lakers' season ends this week, the first question the team needs to answer is where Vogel will go. After a one-year contract extension with the team last summer, his contract expires before the start of next season, and the Lakers' contract seems to make a clear indication that they are about to make changes.
In circles within the league, Vogel's list of possible successors has begun to be seriously discussed and circulated.
Whether Vogel will be replaced by Rivers, Snyder or anyone else, it speaks to how big the Problems the Lakers face now are, big enough to get the coach who led the team to a championship two years ago, and he has clearly fallen prey to this nightmare season.
But unsurprisingly, Vogel didn't want to predict his future in Tuesday's interview.
"Let nature take its course, the boat is naturally straight to the bridge." he said. Although he wasn't ready to discuss his fate in Los Angeles, he seemed to understand the end.
"I've been here for three years and every year is a season for me that has to win in the present." Vogel said.
According to reports last summer, although Vogel led the Lakers to a championship in the 2020 closed division, after the first round of the playoffs last season due to injury, the team management was only willing to renew the championship coach's contract for one season. It was this apparently too short contract that led to speculation about Vogel's future. This speculation became even more enthusiastic after the Lakers visited Sacramento, lost to the Kings after three overtimes, and the winning percentage dropped below 50%, playing a 10-11 start. Some in the league at the time thought Vogel would be fired immediately if the Lakers couldn't win at home against the Pistons on Nov. 29.
The Athletic reported in January that Vogel was just a stone's throw away from being fired after the Lakers' 33-point defeat to the Nuggets, and the report also triggered Vogel's not-so-pleasant remarks about his future at the press conference.
"It's not easy to keep these messages out, these reports are like a sword hanging over your head, you can see them everywhere." To be honest, it's not fun at all, especially if the season is still at this stage and we have such a record. But personally, this pressure on expectations has been there since the day I signed. Vogel said.
During this difficult journey, Vogel's spirit depended on the support of his wife Jennifer. "She gave me a lot of, a lot of support." Vogel commented. Of course, he didn't give up, and he found his old business - Vogel's coaching career began as a video analyst in Boston, and he immersed himself in the study of game video.
"It's a healing for me and watching the game video replay always makes me feel a little better. Because whether you lose or win that game, all the answers are in that video. Vogel said.
But for Vogel and his coaching staff, finding out the problem and finding a solution and letting his aging team carry out its own plan are two completely different things.
In Vogel's first two seasons at the Lakers, the team ranked first in the league in defensive efficiency. But Westbrook's arrival made Vogel's defensive system almost impossible to replicate. Throughout the season Vogel has been constantly hesitating between two glasses of poison, one is to choose the lineup that is physically inferior, but more dynamic offensively, but because of Westbrook's shooting ability, no matter how it is matched, the problem of insufficient space on the court has always existed. The second is to use a lineup that is mainly defensive and body, but this will limit the team's potential on the offensive end.
"Our strong attacking combination doesn't allow me to use that lineup that's better in terms of stature and defense, although that's what I want and I want to let the defense lead us to success." I chose to use more of a small line-up to open up the pitch space, which suited our offensive mix, but the investment in attack hurt the team's defense. Vogel said.
When Vogel got the squad for the new season in the offseason, he knew that none of the glossy names on the roster were good defenders in their careers — Cameron Anthony, Westbrook, Ellington, Munch, or players who had aged and were no longer as strong defensively as they used to be — such as Ariza or Bazemore.
Lakers Basketball Operations President Pelinka was asked in preseason whether the Lakers could maintain their strong defense for the first two seasons after the team lost Caruso, Pope and Danny Green. Pelinka replied at the time that we had Vogel.
'The good news is that we've seen coach Vogel's abilities on the defensive end, his system, his focus on defensive discipline, his tuning of the team's defence and his focus on defence all translate into success on the pitch. Pelinka said so at the time.
But what Pelinka doesn't realize is that this success can't just rely on the system, but also requires players to have the right defensive talent, but this is the part that the Lakers lack the most objectively. On Tuesday, the Lakers' defensive efficiency value has fallen to twenty-third in the league.
"In the process of getting into defensive habits, we have a lot of things that need to be made up. They don't have good defensive habits, you know what I mean, right? So I need to guide them in every detail every day and make them take responsibility for the defense. But apart from that, the team has many difficulties to overcome this year. Vogel said.
While Vogel won't blame Westbrook for any of the Lakers' problems, it's clear that trying to maximize the potential of the 33-year-old former MVP is one of his biggest challenges this year.
The reason why the Lakers paid a high price to complete the deal last offseason was to provide a superstar as insurance and buffer for the aging James and the highly injured Davis.
"When Westbrook and one of the Big Three, plus other role players, we don't have a high winning percentage. Whether it is Westbrook + thick eyebrows, or Westbrook + LeBron, as long as the three of them can't play together, it will be difficult for us to win the game. Vogel said.
On several occasions this season, Vogel has made a very notable decision to press Westbrook on the bench at the final moment of the game, and although he has never been extreme enough to direct Westbrook to the DNP, although this is what some people on the Lakers team want to happen, it has also proved that Vogel does have some different ideas about the use of Westbrook.
In response, Vogel said: "I think it is the best choice for us. Please stretch the evaluation criteria to a season, I believe that Westbrook's form will get better and better as the season progresses, and we know that we have always held out hope. I knew he could play in his form in the final stages, and he did. ”
Vogel was right, and although the Lakers won only four of the 21 games since the All-Star Game, Westbrook seems to have finally found his place in the final stages of the season, averaging 21.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game in the nine games before losing to the Suns, and his shooting percentage has also increased significantly from the season average, and his three-point shooting rate has been close to 40%.
"I've just been trying to give them some guidance and challenges. You'll always do that because it keeps your players in the best shape. I think Wei Shao rewarded my work and persistence with his performance. Vogel said.
Westbrook has similar thoughts about Vogel's approach and expectations, and when asked about the challenges Vogel and the Lakers face this season on Monday, Westbrook said: "The coaching staff did what they thought was good for the team, and that was it. ”
For Vogel, this season has not been worthless, and there is something to be proud of about his work. But that's why he was so depressed on Monday, so depressed that he would pat the table.
Two days later, when the hopes of the playoffs were finally dashed, Vogel used only one sentence of "very disappointed" to express his truest thoughts.
"We were eliminated tonight and I can say responsibly that it wasn't because we didn't work hard enough. We've all worked hard, we've been fighting until the end, and we're all in it. Just failed in a disconnected season. Vogel said.
Vogel's three-year tenure with the Lakers was like a roller coaster, and he experienced the climax of the championship and also experienced a historic low. But the team has had only one goal since its inception: to win the next championship trophy.
Coaching a team like this, while closer to success, is always very risky and often requires consequences.
"This kind of coaching work, you know, coaching in a team with high expectations, is always the case. We'd all rather be managers in this kind of team than the kind of team that doesn't have expectations. Vogel finally said.
Original: Bill Oram
Compilation: Best Fifteenth Man
![Wings are abundant! The name of the name revealed that the Hornets fired Borrego insider, and Jordan wanted to pick up the Lakers?[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)