Though he wants to go on a winning run, LA Lakers coach Frank Vogel believes his team must be realistic and target Play-in tournaments.
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The Lakers right now are like a stranded ship in the middle of the ocean. One of their most skilled sailors, Anthony Davis, cannot keep himself fit enough to take them through, and the Captains Frank Vogel and LeBron James look out of options having tried everything to sail the team through.
Now as the All-Star weekend ends with the Purple and Gold team having the very same squad as they had before the trade deadline, the future seems vaguer than ever.
Much like the last season, which was also plagued with the injuries to the superstar duo of James and Davis, they might again have to suffice with a Play-in spot. But that also looks like a tough spot to fight for now.
And coach Vogel looks as if he has his eyes set more on the Play-in spots rather than finishing the remaining of the season on a high and finishing within a Playoffs spot.
Frank Vogel is targeting a Play-in tournament rather than a Playoffs spot
There are 24 games still to go in the season, and the Lakers will have multiple games against the teams right above them in the standings to make the ground up. But it is very unlikely that they will go on a winning run playing against the teams with a winning record. They haven’t done it all season.
“We know exactly where we are in the standings,” said Vogel after practice on Thursday. “We are six (games) back from the six spot. We’re three-and-a-half (games) back from the seven spot. We’re one-and-a-half (games) back from the eight spot. We know that the goal would be to get to the top six. That is a long shot, but still within reach if we come out strong. If we’re not able to get that, then getting into that first play-in game (is the goal).”
They will play the Clippers, the current eighth seed, twice over the next week. They have a game against Minnesota, the current seventh seed, in mid-March and have two games against Denver, the sixth seed, in the final week of the season. That might be the reason Frank is keeping them on the ground.
“The first play-in game is double elimination. The 9-10 game is single elimination. Every game is going to matter. We’ll move up as much as we can in the standings. (But) more importantly than all of that, we want to play our best basketball down the stretch and peak going into those playoff series or games.”
It is a fact that goals must be realistic. There wouldn’t be any point in the Lakers targeting a Playoffs spot when they stand closer to losing the Play-in spot.
Vogel might get criticism from the fans and media for these comments but is nowhere wrong in assessing the situation. In any case, the man has been the scapegoat throughout the season.
