Let's be Frank
The Lakers are reeling, and head coach Frank Vogel is finding himself at the center of wrong conversations.
Barring an unforeseen bit of cohesion coupled with a playoff run, Frank Vogel is finished. No, it isn't fair, but in this kitchen, the manager who buys the rotten food gets to fire the chef who can't make something delicious with the garbage. The coach often ends up being the scapegoat in these situations, but the Lakers' mess is like climate change — there are a lot of interwoven components and everyone is to blame.
The team was looking to make an upgrade after a disappointing finish last season. They sought the input of key stakeholders and had the buy-in of LeBron and Davis to land Westbrook. Russ is a local kid who grew up a Lakers fan. He was excited to come home and chase a title with his friends. LeBron's oldest son loves Russ and wears his number. Everyone said all the right things. There were reportedly conversations about adjusting roles and playing style in order to sacrifice for the greater good. You sprinkle some shooting around all those stars (Kendrick Nunn, Carmelo, Malik Monk, Kent Bazemore when he isn't cross-eyed) and you're set, right?
Turns out, not so much. Defense has been an issue all season and the team hasn't been able to generate any real continuity for any length of time. The Lakers haven't been healthy all season, sitting near the bottom of the league in games missed due to illness or injury. So far 13 Lakers have missed time, costing the team a cumulative total of 173 games. Of course, other teams are dealing with similar issues — Miami and Milwaukee have lost more players and more time to injury setbacks than the Lakers and are performing far better. Denver and Memphis are the next teams on the list and they, too are handling their business.
Regardless, losing Anthony Davis is a significant setback. And as uninspiring as the Lakers have been, the return of their star forward theoretically solves a host of problems. The Lakers have found something — at least on offense — with LeBron at the five in the Russ/Bradley/Monk/Johnson lineup. Despite the spacing issues, that crew is blitzing teams, scoring 123.8 pts/poss with an effective field goal rate of 57.9%. Of course, they're allowing teams to post an eFG of 55.5% on the other side of the ball, so it's not all kittens and lollypops.
When AD returns, LeBron won't need to play center and Davis should be able to slot comfortably into Stanley Johnson's spot and provide a significant upgrade to a lineup that has outscored teams by 10.7 points (all numbers per Cleaning The Glass).
Should is doing some heavy lifting in that last sentence given what many predicted should happen with the Lakers this year. But it's not crazy that LeBron, Russ, and AD flanked by even average shooting could scare a team in the playoffs. Can a team with LeBron and AD — two of the top 10 players in the NBA — really not field a contender? Could this team really not put it together and finish in the top 5 out West? With ample evidence that what they've tried isn't working, isn't this Westbrook's last, best chance to start moving and cutting off the ball and trying every possession on defense?
It's been such an odd and vexing year for the Lakers that it's hard to feel comfortable predicting anything moving forward. But if the Lakers continue to stumble their way toward the playin tournament, and if they make another early playoff exit, one thing you can be sure of is that Frank Vogel is going to take the fall.
About last night…
My god. What a night in the NBA.
It makes sense that we start in Philadelphia, as Joel Embiid scored 47 points through three quarters, eventually returning to tie his career high of 50 — in only 27 frickin' minutes of game time. He scored 20 of Philadelphia's first 22 points. Not only that, but he had to survive a wicked first half from Mo Bamba (28 points, 7-8 from three).
Was that the best performance of the night? I'm not sure...
Nikola Jokic must have heard about Embiid's career-night, and raised him one. How about 49 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists — none more important than this 40-foot crosscourt dime to Aaron Gordon to win the game:
In a 13-game slate, we're going to get a lot of awesome highlights, memes, and key points to hit. There's too many to do individually, so here:
Tobias Harris screened his own teammate and made the face of someone who realizes he's about to play for the Sacramento Kings.
Cade was ejected on Sunday. Last night, Anthony Edwards and Jimmy Butler were ejected with the quickness. There's always a meme for that:
Brooklyn Nets' assistant coach David Vanterpool now has as many deflections as Thomas Bryant this season. Watch him tip this corner swing away from Kyle Kuzma. James Harden is playing Westbrook-level defense in the clutch as of late.
Trae Young, with the coolest nutmeg of his career:
Dejounte Murray did the same, but for an assist:
The Pacers, already without Myles Turner, are expected to also be without Domantas Sabonis for a period of time with an ankle injury "that is probably going to be significant," according to Rick Carlisle.
KPJ put the Jazz away with another stepback jay. Utah's collapsing. They're 1-6 over their last seven games, with losses to Houston, Detroit, and Indiana — and they added notorious trader Danny Ainge to their front office.
At last, Frank Vogel benched Russell Westbrook to close the game against Indiana. The staff was told, "You got to do what you got to do."
Scores, stats, & notes
Sixers 123, Magic 110 — 21 on good efficiency for Tobias Harris! Suggs and Anthony look good together for Orlando.
Nets 119, Wizards 118 — Kyrie Irving scored 30, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27, and the Nets barely hung on to a dub.
Hawks 123, Timberwolves 122 — Trae's back up to stuff. 37 points, 14 assists, a completely dominant third quarter. I knew the Timberwolves were going to lose when KAT revealed he's been playing with fire because of astrology.
Hornets 111, Celtics 102 — LaMelo got his triple double (15-10-10) with 0.2 seconds left on the clock:
Heat 104, Trail Blazers 92 — Caleb Martin has been the ultimate find. 26 points, picking up the slack for the ejected Jimmy Butler. With Adebayo back in the lineup, Omer Yurtseven played seven seconds.
Bulls 117, Cavaliers 104 — The Bulls are back in the win column. DeRozan scored 30. Our guy Ayo Dosunmu with a nice 18 points on 7-8 from the field.
Bucks 126, Grizzlies 114 — It's so fun to watch Morant and Giannis duel. 33 and 14 assists for Morant, 33 and 15 rebounds for Giannis. The Greek Freak just had a little more help from his friends.
Mavericks 102, Raptors 98 — Luka Doncic (41 points, 13-24 FG, 14 rebounds, seven assists) has entered the All-Star conversation, and a bit more. The Mavs have won four straight and have been locking teams up. Toronto can't sustain playing seven guys. Both OG and Siakam played 43 minutes.
Spurs 118, Thunder 96 — Dejounte Murray (23-10-14) continues to roll.
Rockets 116, Jazz 111 — The Jazz are falling apart. Even without Mitchell, they have to put away Houston. For the past three seasons, Utah has dominated the regular season because they don't lose games they shouldn't. They are now.
Nuggets 130, Clippers 128 — A masterclass from Jokic was needed to finish this one off. Denver, with the win, is still desperate to get Bryn Forbes in the lineup.
Pistons 133, Kings 131 — Detroit won! Saddiq Bey (30 points) is back to doing his thing. Kelly Olynyk returned after missing 33 games and scored 22 points. The Pistons spoil Terence Davis' career-high 35 points. Marvin Bagley is going to look great in Pistons' blue and white.
Pacers 111, Lakers 104 — Sabonis triple-doubled, LeVert scored 30, and the Pacers got it done.