The boiling seat under Frank Vogel only got hotter after the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Indiana Pacers, 111-104, on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The ugly result — Indy's first road win since November — dropped the Lakers back under .500 (22-23) and negated any positive momentum they accrued from their win over the Utah Jazz on Monday.
Afterward, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony — along with Vogel — addressed the media. It was the first time Lakers players faced questions since multiple reports dropped on Tuesday that indicated Vogel was nearly fired following the 37-point loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and is being evaluated on a game-to-game basis (Vogel will reportedly remain in charge as the team embarks on a crucial six-game East Coast swing.)
LeBron and Anthony shouldered the blame on behalf of the players for the team's inconsistent effort, both in the Pacers loss and throughout the season. They each defended the coaching staff in general.
“Coaching staff has been great,” LeBron stated. “They've put us in a position to suceed and it's up to us to by in and handle business. There's always things that we all can do better but there's no blame.”
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“Listen, I'm not in the business of pointing fingers or pointing blame or trying to put a quote at the end or at the start of someone's commentary of what they feel our coaching staff or Frank is or what Russ is or what I am or AD,” LeBron continued. “If it's not positive for me, I'm cool. It's not my lane. I'm not a negative person.”
One can debate the truth to James' words there — he has had coaches fired midseason in the past (see: Blatt, David). More likely, he was simply trying to avoid creating any more headlines and get to that movie with his wife. Once again, though, LeBron passed on the opportunity to offer a full-throated endorsement of the current head coach.
“It’s up to us,” Melo said. “Frank not out there. It’s up to us to go out there and execute and play basketball and win some games.”
Both players also threw a bit of shade at Vogel's defensive strategy in the fourth quarter. The Lakers soft drop coverage allowed Caris LeVert to have his way in the midrange and dominate late in the game.
For his part, Vogel said his relationship with Lakers management hasn't changed. “I don’t feel like I’m under siege. It’s not hard to do my job. I’m very focused on the task at hand; I’ve always been that way. It’s really not up to me whether (speculation is) fair or not, it comes with the territory, comes with being the Lakers coach, we have high expectations, this fan base really cares, it’s a big market and I wouldn’t want it any other way, to be honest with you.”
“Everyone is working together to leave no stone unturned in terms of getting this thing going in the right direction. And we all have a great working relationship where we’re trying to figure out things together. We won a championship this way, and I feel good about our process.”
As for Russell Westbrook? Neither LeBron nor Melo was totally forthcoming on their true feelings about the nine-time All-Star's crunch-time benching. Westbrook, who Vogel boldly sat in the final minutes (with the green light from the front office), did not speak to the media, nor his Lakers teammates about the ordeal. That saga is not over.
The Lakers' road trip begins Friday vs. the Orlando Magic, then features four straight matchups with playoff teams before wrapping up against the Atlanta Hawks. Anthony Davis is expected to return at some point on the trip.
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