Stephen A. Smith Says Lakers Quit on Frank Vogel in Closing Weeks of Season
Frank Vogel is clearly on the hot seat after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith had a harsh assessment of the head coach Wednesday on First Take:
"The Los Angeles Lakers quit the last several weeks of the season," Smith said (3:40). "Quit on Frank Vogel."
Los Angeles lost its seventh game in a row to drop to 31-48 on the season, clinching no better than 11th in the Western Conference.
"They're not hustling back on defense, they're not prioritizing team play," Smith added. "They were a bunch of individuals, living in LaLa, enjoying the sunshine. I'm sorry, that's on Frank Vogel."
The Lakers are only two years removed from winning a championship under Vogel. The franchise went six years without a playoff berth before the coach arrived and led the squad to a title in his first season with the team.
Things have gone downhill in the two years since.
Los Angeles barely snuck into the playoffs through the play-in tournament in 2020-21 before losing in the first round. The team couldn't even get that far in 2021-22 after an especially embarrassing late-season slide. The Lakers have won just five of their last 25 games and don't have consecutive wins since Jan. 7.
Injuries have been a significant issue with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis missing time, but Vogel couldn't do anything to stop the bleeding.
It could lead to a change in the coaching staff this offseason.
