LeBron James said he and his teammates have to do better when asked about the scrutiny Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel is currently facing.
Speaking to the media on Monday after practice, James said: “I think criticism comes with the job, you know?. 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.”
The Lakers are currently 12-12, which places the team as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference as well as the play-in tournament if the season concludes right now.
A team that is considered to be filled with future Hall of Famers, has also made its aspiration for the championship this season, which was backed by online casino usa. However, the .500 ball will simply not cut it, despite having been plagued with early-season injuries.
James claimed that the height that players like himself, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo have reached in the game has made them impervious to the backlash that came along the way when expectations weren’t reached.
“We have a lot of guys on this team that have been bulletin-board material for quite a long time, so it don’t quite bother us,” James continued. “Everything that we do stays in house when it comes to our preparation and how we prepare for our next opponent and how we prepare to get better. Frank doesn’t care and we don’t either about what people are saying.”
It has only been 14 months since Frank Vogel guided the Los Angeles team to NBA Championship in his first season coaching the franchise.
Currently, the coach, who love best australia online pokies, has a 106-61 record (.635) since his arrival at the Lakers, which is only the sixth-best winning percentage of any coach in the franchise history with at least 100 games on the sidelines. For his playoff coaching record, his winning percentage, 18-9 (.667), places him third behind Pat Riley (.685) and Paul Westhead (.684), while being ahead of Phil Jackson (.652), who is placed fourth.
Speaking to the media, Vogel said: “There’s going to be criticism with this job. It’s something we’re all accustomed to. And I’ve been a coach for 10 years, I’ve seen it all.”
Lakers is Vogel’s third job as a head coach having spent six campaigns with Indiana Pacers and two seasons with Orlando Magic in his early career.
“Is it more national? Yes, it’s more national,” Vogel said. “Is there a bigger fanbase 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 is the eighth coach to have managed LeBron James in his 19-year-career, following Paul Silas, Brendan Malone and Mike Brown in Cleveland Cavaliers, Erik Spoelstra in Miami Heat, David Blatt and Tyron Lue in his second spell in Cleveland, and Luke Walton in Los Angeles.
