In order to enhance the competitiveness of the team in the offseason last year, the Lakers management did not hesitate to use chips such as "Kuzma, Pop, Harrell and 21-year No. 22 pick" to exchange for the average of 22.2 points, 11.5 boards and 11.7 assists per game, 43.9% shooting rate, and still play a triple-double performance of Wei Shao, and thus formed the "Zhan Wei Mei" super big three combination.
And since then, the Lakers management has also introduced Anthony, Bradley, Howard, Bazemore, Ariza and other powerful veterans, successfully creating a lineup that looks very likely to rush the championship...
However, even if the overall lineup of the Lakers in the new season is luxurious enough, it is also greatly expected by the outside world - it is believed that as long as "Zhan Weimei" can produce a chemical reaction, then the Lakers can easily play a dominance and easily rush out of the West to compete for the championship; and in the worst case, even if the big three cannot produce a chemical reaction, they can easily squeeze into the top four in the West.
But the "face" came quite quickly, after the start of the new season, the Lakers have lost to the Warriors, Suns, Bucks and other strong teams, and lost to the Thunder, Knicks, Kings and other weak teams in the middle of the season, the three giants can not produce a chemical reaction at all, and have not been able to play the expected record.
In the end, in the case of having the "Zhan Weimei" big three, the Lakers not only lingered in the playoff area for a long time, but even fell out of the playoff area at the end of the season, missing the playoffs in advance...
Think about the beginning of the season, even if the outside world has more questions about the state and chemistry of the Lakers, I believe that no one will think that they will not be able to enter the playoffs, and even 50% of the winning rate will not be obtained, right? After all, in the 20-year playoffs, with the "Zhan Mei Combination", the Lakers have already played the championship level.
And just when the Lakers' new season record is seriously less than expected, it seems that Vogel's "class" has been inevitable. After all, it is obviously easier to replace the manager than to replace the star, so whenever the team's record does not meet expectations, the team management will often consider replacing the manager first and changing to another tactical way of playing...
Recently, Pelinka issued a tribute speech: "Vogel is a great coach and a good person. We will always thank him for bringing us the NBA championship in the 19-20 season. It was a very difficult decision, but we thought it was necessary. ”
However, regarding Vogel's "end of class", there are two completely different voices in the outside world - one side believes that Vogel frequently changes the team's starting lineup (41 sets of starting lineups) in the new season, resulting in the team can not fully play out, and he really needs to "back the pot" for the team's failure to play the expected results;
The other side believes that with the state and lineup of the Lakers in the new season, no matter which manager takes over the record, the record is similar, so Vogel does not need to "back the pot".
So, even if the coaching record does not meet expectations, the Lakers should not cut Vogel?
Combining Vogel's career resume and 20 years of achievements in leading the Lakers to win the championship, if he is "back to the pot" because the coaching record in the new season does not meet expectations, it is obviously not a very good decision from the current point of view.
1. After cutting Vogel, the Lakers did not have a good manager candidate. After Vogel officially left the class, how to finalize the new manager as soon as possible has become the most important work content of the current Lakers management. The recent rumors of potential Lakers coaches include Jazz coach Quinn Snyder, Philadelphia City coach Doug Rivers, Raptors coach Nick Nas, and University of Michigan coach Juwan Howard.
But at present, the contracts of these managers have not expired, and Quinn Snyder and Nick Nas have led the team to the playoffs, as long as they are not a round trip or swept, the chances of them leaving the class this year are not high.
The only manager who is more likely to leave the class is Philadelphia City Manager Doug Rivers. Philadelphia was reversed by the Hawks under his coach last year, and if this year's playoffs are reversed again, then he may really be in the end of the class...
If none of the above managers have "left class", it will be more difficult for the Lakers management to finalize the manager in the offseason. And even if these managers have the opportunity to coach the Lakers, their personal ability is actually not much stronger than That of Vogel.
2. The loss of the new season is not enough to show that Vogel's coaching ability is insufficient. At the beginning of the 19-20 season when the Lakers introduced Vogel, the outside world was also not optimistic about his personal ability, believing that under his coaching, the Lakers could not win the championship at all.
Especially at that time, Vogel did not follow the trend of small balls and blindly built a five-small system. On the contrary, according to the personal technical characteristics of James and Thick Eyebrows, a set of offensive and defensive championship system has been created. And it is also under this championship system that Thick Brow and James fully play their own advantages and play a chemical reaction...
Although Vogel intends to continue to create a set of offensive and defensive championship system according to the characteristics of the Lakers lineup in the new season, he is limited by the lineup limitations, no matter how he adjusts, he has not been able to find a suitable system in time. In the end, it was because of Vogel's frequent adjustments that the Lakers could not play in the playoffs.
Perhaps Vogel will reduce the frequency of reshuffling the lineup, and the Lakers' record will be more stable and have a better chance of reaching the playoffs. But even if they make it to the playoffs, without the right system, it will be difficult for them to make the playoffs or make a difference in the playoffs.
3, even if Vogel is cut, it will not solve the fundamental problem of the Lakers. The fundamental problem of the Lakers' record in the new season is that: First, with a contract of 40 million + US dollars, Wei Shao cannot play a super star performance; second, the frequent injuries of thick eyebrows and the decline in James' state have led to the three giants not being able to play their due performance; third, the team's deformed rotation lineup cannot form an effective combat effectiveness.
Now that the Lakers management has cut Vogel, it seems that a new manager can solve the problem, but in fact, they have not solved the fundamental problem. Next season, Wei Shao is still difficult to find the superstar status, James is a year older, still can not expect him to have the energy to play elite defense, and the glass attributes and state decline of thick eyebrows will still affect the overall strength of the Lakers.
In summary, although the team's performance in the new season is not good, Vogel does have to bear part of the responsibility, but it will not fall to the level of "off the class". Because after cutting Vogel, the Lakers did not have a very good manager candidate, and they could not solve the fundamental problems of the team. Even if the Lakers forcibly change the head coach, if the lineup does not change much, they will still have a hard time reaching the playoffs next year...