Amidst speculation about his job security, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel lit a fire under his team on Tuesday, writes Bill Oram of The Athletic.
The Lakers trailed by nine at half, but dominated the second half 67-33 after Vogel gave a fiery halftime speech, leading to the team’s largest margin of victory of the season, a 117-92 win over the Kings. Vogel said the speech came out of necessity.
“Every now and then the coach has to light a fire under his team,” Vogel said. “And today was one of those games.”
Dwight Howard said his coach told the team that its effort wasn’t good enough.
“His whole point was, ‘Stop talking about wanting to win a championship and not giving the correct effort,'” Howard said, per Oram.
Here’s more from L.A.:
- Anthony Davis is finding his voice as a leader with LeBron James sidelined with COVID-19, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “It’s like I’m being tested with my leadership,” Davis told Yahoo Sports following Tuesday’s game. “‘Bron has been out with injuries and now also with the COVID situation, so it’s a good test for me. It’s a good experience for me to lead these guys and the good thing about it, I have other vets on my side who’ve been in the game for a while to help me through the obstacles. It’s a good test, not just for our team, but for me to lead these guys.”
- Speaking of James, Davis said he’s doing well and is asymptomatic so far, tweets Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group.
- Veteran big man Serge Ibaka, recently returned from back surgery, gave the Clippers‘ offense a boost as they battle through a slump, writes Mirjam Swanson of the Southern California News Group. Ibaka had 13 points and six rebounds Monday against the Pelicans, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep. The Clips could really use more of that type of output, as they currently rank 25th in the league in offensive rating. The Clippers are 2-5 in their last seven games and 11-10 on the season.
There’s something that’s bothersome with AD and Lebron’s attitude dealing with Vogel. I realize that they are superstars and they make so much more money, but they treat Vogel like a waterboy. It just seems that way when they are talking to him, in the huddle, and just their body language. I realize it’s the players’ league and superstars call most of the personnel decisions, but you still gotta respect your head coach or at least pretend to when our kids are watching the game. It’s really too bad what the league has become.