Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has received some staunch criticism of late amid his team's recent slump. As a matter of fact, the Lakers have been playing poorly for much of the campaign, and it certainly feels like coach Vogel has been on a perpetual hot seat all season long.
Danny Green, who played alongside LeBron James for the Lakers during their historic 2019-20 championship season, has now come to the defense of the embattled coach. The Philadelphia 76ers veteran called out Vogel's critics as he tried to explain why he believes LA's troubles should NOT be pinned all on their head coach:
“Coach Vogel man, I liked Coach he was great, and this is one of the reasons why I don’t want to coach,” Green said on a recent episode of the Inside the Green Room podcast. “He’s been dealt – I don’t want to say a bad hand – but it’s a situation where it’s hard to figure out, especially with injuries, COVID. He hasn’t had some of his best players in the lineup yet, and he’s getting blamed for a lot of things that I don’t think are his fault at all.
“It doesn’t make any sense. Poor stretches – I mean, hey they do what they do, it’s their business. They make up their mind. They figure out where they want to move to, but I think Coach Vogel is a great coach and I think he should be there.”
Excellent point from Green here. As much as it is Vogel who pulls the strings for the Lakers, there's also no denying that the players should also be equally blamed — if not more — for the Lakers' poor play this season. At the end of the day, the coach can only do so much. It's the players who take the floor every single game. All Vogel can do would be to try and put them in the best position to win — something that he has proven capable of doing.
Green also pointed out that a lot of external factors have also come into play that have greatly affected the Lakers all season long. Injuries to their star players — Anthony Davis, in particular — as well as COVID outbreaks have certainly had a significant impact on the team in general.
Green then went on to talk about the problems of the Lakers roster and how this has become another integral part of LA's lackluster showing in the first half of the campaign:
“A lot of the guys do a lot of the same things there,” Green said. “It’s hard to put them in their strengths. You can’t make guys make shots. You can’t make guys not turn the ball over. You can’t make guys play defense. Those are three major things that you need to win a basketball game. It's a tough deal for him.”
Former Laker @DGreen_14 thinks Frank Vogel is getting an unfair amount of blame
+ @dawnstaley on her rise from North Philly to Olympic Champion Player/Coach & DG critiques @HarrisonSanford All Star picks
🎧 on @SIRIUSXM now! https://t.co/P8dhpQTu6t
📺 on @NBCSPhilly Sunday! pic.twitter.com/jLhoUB0aap
— Inside The Green Room (@GreenRoomInside) January 19, 2022
According to reports, Frank Vogel could be fired any day now. He's been the scapegoat for many Lakers fans and critics alike and it seems that the front office is now also on the same boat. For Danny Green, it is clear that he is of the opinion that coach Vogel does not deserve this type of treatment. It would not be surprising, however, if his statements here just fall on deaf ears.
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