LeBron James has liked what he’s seen from this year’s Lakers coaching staff.
The job of Lakers head coach hasn’t been a particularly secure one for most of this decade and with LeBron James and Anthony Davis now on the roster, the margin for error is slim — assuming it exists.
Luckily for the Lakers’ newest head coach, Frank Vogel, the team has gotten off to a tremendous 14-2 start, and he and his coaching staff are getting their due credit.
After the Lakers’ 109-108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, James, who led all scorers with 30 points, praised the coaching staff for the work they’ve done this season:
“Our coaching staff prepares. They do a great scout. Give us great video throughout the course of the game, let us know what teams are running or what to be prepared for. And then we just trust our communication. We know what we’re doing coming out of a timeout, no matter if we’re up or down, and then we rely on that. We’ve been able to get stops at the end of the ball game two nights in a row and it’s worked toward wins.”
Prior to this season, Vogel hadn’t coached since the 2017-18 season. The same was true of one of his top assistants, Jason Kidd. But between Vogel, Kidd, Lionel Hollins and Phil Handy, the Lakers have enough experience on the sidelines to get them where they need to be by the time the postseason rolls around.
Obviously a lot of that falls on the players themselves, but it’s the coaching staff’s job to get the team to buy in, and they’ve done just that so far. As long as the Lakers keep showing growth and racking up wins, Vogel’s seat should be at a normal temperature.
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