Lakers’ LeBron James addresses criticism facing Frank Vogel
The Los Angeles Lakers have endured plenty of criticism after a 12-12 start.
A new roster already posed challenges, and those issues worsened when LeBron James, Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn dealt with respective injuries. James has played in only 12 games this year, while Ariza and Nunn haven’t made their season debuts yet.
Fingers have pointed in several directions, and a common person getting blamed for the poor play has been head coach Frank Vogel.
However, LeBron addressed the situation and said the players also need to do their part on the floor.
“I think criticism comes with the job, you know?” James said during his media session Monday. “Frank is a strong-minded guy. He has a great coaching staff. And we, as his players, have to do a better job of going out and producing on the floor. We’re a team and an organization that don’t mind some adversity, that don’t mind people saying things about us, obviously, because it comes with the territory.”
Vogel, who has been a head coach for the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic prior to joining L.A., also addressed it during his media session after James.
“There’s going to be criticism with this job,” Vogel said. “It’s something we’re all accustomed to. And I’ve been a coach for 10 years. I’ve seen it all. Is it more national? Yes, it’s more national. Is there a bigger fan base in this market in L.A.? Yes, there is. But it’s been there for every head coach, and it’s something I’m not unfamiliar with, so it just comes with the job.”
Vogel has helped L.A. win a championship during the Orlando bubble in 2019-20, then guided the squad to the No. 1 ranked defense the following season despite injuries to LeBron and Anthony Davis, among several other setbacks that culminated in a first-round playoff exit.
It’ll be interesting to see how the team progresses, but developing consistency, which hasn’t been the case for the team, should be a priority.
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