September 20, 2023

2 adjustments Frank Vogel must make to avoid firing

With the Indiana Pacers struggling and coming off of a loss to Orlando, Frank Vogel’s job might be on the line. Here are two adjustments he must make so as not to get fired by Larry Bird in this crucial point of his tenure with the team.

The “frank vogel” is a person who has been fired from their job. They are looking for ways to avoid the same fate. The “2 adjustments frank vogel must make to avoid firing” will help them find success in the future.

This season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been disappointing their supporters on a regular basis. The 2020 NBA Champions have been struggling to win games this season, and they are now ranked sixth in the Western Conference. With the acquisition of Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards before the start of the season, there were great expectations, but they have not been reached. As a result, rumors of a coaching change have begun to circulate. Frank Vogel, who guided the squad to the championship in 2020, has come under growing fire since then. Here are two big changes Vogel can make to avoid losing his job as Lakers coach.

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Adjustments made by Lakers coach Frank Vogel to save his job

Slow down the pace.

According to the speed measure, the Lakers are now playing the second-fastest basketball in the NBA. The problem here is straightforward: the Lakers are old. The team’s top players are either above 30 years old or have the name Anthony Davis. The plan before the season was clear: save the stars for the postseason and then go all out in the playoffs. The idea, unfortunately for Lakers fans, isn’t working out. The Lakers were largely expected to finish in the top two slots, allowing them to enter the playoffs with ease, but they are now fighting for a berth in the postseason without having to compete in a play-in round.

If Vogel wants to maintain his job, he has to go back to his days with the Pacers and tell the Lakers to calm down. It’s tough to accomplish this since both of the Lakers’ key ball-handlers desire to play fast. But, at the end of the day, he is the coach, and his judgment is final. He’ll be able to do a lot if he can convince LeBron James and Russell Westbrook to play more half-court offense.

First and foremost, Vogel would be able to calm down a frantic offense that is now rated 23rd in the league in terms of offensive rating. By adopting a more methodical approach, the Lakers will be able to capitalize on James’ brilliant passes and court vision to create more chances in that area of the floor. Second, a slower assault would quickly slow down the adversary, allowing him to better conserve his men’ weak health. With the exception of Westbrook and Anthony, all of the big players missing time, this should be the most compelling reason to slow things down.

Frank Vogel has worked with slower teams before. When the statistics of his Pacers teams are considered, they are consistently among the league’s top 10 slowest teams, according to the speed measure. Furthermore, by reaching back-to-back conference finals, that Pacers group came dangerously near to winning the NBA championship. The Lakers want success, and although the rosters are very different, this may be the best method for Vogel to not only mask his team’s flaws, but also to keep the Lakers from being too injured.

Remove the centers from the rotation.

It’s important to note that Anthony Davis is unaffected in this situation. Davis is mostly a power forward who has seen time at center this season. Davis is playing 68 percent of his minutes at center this season, the highest rate since the 2018-19 season in New Orleans, according to Basketball Reference. Despite the fact that he spends the most of his time in the middle, he may easily remain there. Davis must play for the Lakers, regardless of his position.

This refers to DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard in particular. Jordan is now in two of the Lakers’ five-man lineups that have played for at least 30 minutes this season. Both are negative, with one having a 15.7 point deficit and the other having an 18.3 point difference. In comparison to comparable five-man lineups, all but one are in the plus column. Howard isn’t in any lineups that have played more than 30 minutes, but when all five-man lineups are included, just one of them with Howard has a positive point differential. Overall, one has a negative 31 point differential, which is nearly laughable.

Jordan and Howard are now both harming the Lakers with their performances. When Jordan was benched by the Nets last season, many pundits thought Jordan might still be effective. Many people also considered that the Lakers’ loss of Howard, who won the 2020 championship with them, was a major factor in their terrible season last year. However, their performance in limited playing time has shown that their abilities are mostly useless in today’s NBA. Even the minimal playing they’ve had should be relegated to garbage time or very particular matchups if Frank Vogel can connect the connections.

In general, the Lakers are still in a good situation, at least in light of the circumstances. The Lakers have dealt with a slew of injuries, a significant role for Westbrook to fill, and a slew of older players dealing with various issues. Being in the postseason hunt isn’t all terrible, and when you add in the fact that Westbrook normally heats up around the All-Star break and beyond, there’s a lot to like. When a team with James isn’t great, as all NBA fans know, it’s generally the coach who pays the ultimate price. As a result, Frank Vogel has to turn things around as soon as possible.