The Los Angeles Lakers should have come into this matchup with the Indiana Pacers on a high note after upsetting the Utah Jazz in one of the most complete defensive performances of the season. Instead, they were in the news for all of the wrong reasons about Frank Vogel’s job status. Here’s where the Lakers fan’s level of trust comes into play when it comes to media companies.
- One report has Frank Vogel being evaluated for his job with each passing game according to The Athletic’s Bill Oram and Sam Amick.
- Then there’s the Los Angeles Times that reports that the Los Angeles Lakers have no plans to replace Frank Vogel at this time.
- Then the LA Times goes further to report that Kurt Rambis is starting to invoke his opinion on roster decisions which includes more Dwight Howard and wait for it…DeAndre Jordan!
- One report that was consistent across the board was the Utah victory on Monday night saved Vogel’s job and he almost got released after the Denver loss…
"However, following the Lakers’ 101-95 win against the Jazz on Monday, their best victory of the season, The Athletic reported Vogel’s job was in jeopardy. People with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Times that a bad loss to Utah could’ve been the final straw."
Lake Show Life votes or maybe just this writer Ronald Agers will make it clear that the Los Angeles Lakers need to fire Frank Vogel as head coach to save money on his expenses after the Lake Show LOST TO THE INDIANA PACERS 111-104.
Sometimes you hear that a NBA team is struggling without understanding the true context of how bad they are playing. The Pacers had lost four straight games and ten of their last eleven games. They were at the bottom of the NBA with three road wins…until now!
Get this, the Indiana Pacers had not won a game in 2022 (Until NOW!) and the drought went back to November 22nd when they beat the Chicago Bulls when they barely had enough players to play because of so many in NBA Health and Safety protocols and injuries.
In other words, four National holidays had passed between Pacers road wins!
The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
LeBron James treated the Indiana Pacers like old comfortable slippers.
(Cue the the Commodores music…Easy like Sunday Morning!)
Despite the ongoing consistency of the Los Angeles Lakers, there is one constant that will carry on no matter what happens in the future. LeBron James will surgically take apart opponents in the scoring column. He has led the Lakers in scoring 14 games in a row (32.9 points during the stretch!) and at this point can wake up in the morning with at least 25 points in the box score. But it’s HOW he’s doing it which is almost ridiculous.
This is a perfect illustration of how you use skill to embarrass an opposing front-line player.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1484015715300614146
In the first half alone, LeBron had 18 points (7-9 shooting!), 8 rebounds and 4 assists. He hit both of his shots behind the line and had a collaboration with Malik Monk on an alley-oop dunk that had the crowd rocking.
Congratulations to LeBron James for achieving the 10,000 mark in rebounds. That’s a very impressive feat! He finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. More on LeBron because maybe his last greatest streak as a pro is being disrespected at this point.
Thank God Talen Horton-Tucker is strong mentally and is not paying attention to trade rumors!
It’s a shame that some Lakers fans take to social media and use every Lakers player that is under the age of 25 for trade scenarios and then complain when they flourish on another team. It has happened with Julius Randle, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma etc. Well, it’s THT’s turn. Thanks to the January 15th date that makes him trade eligible, Dan Woike of the LA Times has reported rumors of the third-year player on the trading block.
"“According to people with knowledge of the situation, the team is shopping 21-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker in trade discussions. Rival general managers believe the Lakers value Horton-Tucker, but they lack the mid-range contracts needed to put together a deal to upgrade their roster and understand no significant trade is getting made without him.”"
Granted the only reason his name is in the rumor is because Russell Westbrook and his contract is radioactive at this point. But instead of pouting, THT came out firing scoring 10 points in the first half on 4-5 shooting. He looked more in control and he continues to gain his rhythm from the COVID issues he had. He had 20 points and 7 assists.
But he had plenty of help from his bench mates!
The Lakers bench destroyed the Pacers!
The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed back Carmelo Anthony to the lineup after a three-game absence with back issues. Along with THT, Melo did what he always do on the home floor. Knock-down shots in repetition. He finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. The other players did not score much, but they had winning plays on defense and drawing offensive fouls.
Malik Monk:
Look…the staff of Lake Show Life is really trying to understand why he got benched for Trevor Ariza. Give him a ton of credit for trying to be a professional. He was even part of the play of the night…
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1484023542001901569
10 points on six shots is a shame!
Austin Reaves:
Austin Reaves aka “The Alex Caruso 3000” quietly gave the Indiana Pacers fits by being in the right place at the right time on both ends of the floor. His consistent ability to draw offensive fouls (Especially the ones on Malcolm Brogdon and Lance Stephenson!) is another example of players the Lakers need to take care of the dirty work and the willingness to put his body in harm’s way to sacrifice.
The majority of the bench had plus/minus ratios on the plus side. The starters were on the minus side.