Frank Vogel Gives The Lakers B+ Grade For First Half Of Season
It's been quite a first half of the season for the Lakers.
They're atop the Western Conference with a record of 33-8 and have the best road record in the league at 17-3, an incredible upswing for a team that's missed the playoffs the last six seasons.
But their past struggles became irrelevant the moment the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis to play alongside LeBron James in a blockbuster trade this offseason.
Forget making the playoffs. All of the sudden, anything short of a championship would be a failure.
So at Friday's practice, 41 games into their 82-game season, Lakers' coach Frank Vogel was tough when asked what grade he'd assign his team so far.
"I'd say probably a B+ off the top of my head," Vogel said. "I think we've done a good job taking care of business. We've won at a high rate. But we still have a long way to go in terms of fixing pieces and growing in the second half of the season."
Their only real blip this season was a four-game losing streak. But that seems hard to remember after their recent nine-game winning streak, which was snapped by a 119-118 loss to Orlando on Wednesday. Before that game, the Lakers were 22-0 against teams under .500.
At Friday's practice, Vogel said he learned early on that this Lakers team was tough.
The Lakers' preseason trip to China was full of drama after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for the protesters in Hong Kong. The team responded by banding together while they were embroiled in the controversy, and using their canceled media appearances and community events as an opportunity to bond.
"It was an early good sign that we were going to have great chemistry this year," Vogel said. "When you deal with adversity before you really even hit the ground, and you're able to grow and be together in an environment like that, it was just an early sign that our chemistry was going to be strong. Obviously it has to stay strong in the second half of the season, But that to me was the first sign that it was going to be good."
The Lakers have shown their depth while Anthony Davis has been sidelined for four-straight games because of a gluteus maximus contusion, with Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels each having moments of brilliance in his absence.
Their chemistry has been great. The team actually enjoys spending time together, which was recently emphasized by Anthony Davis treating teammates Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo and assistant coach Mike Penberthy to the NFL playoff game between the Packers and the Seattle Seahawks during an off day on Jan. 12.
The Lakers' offense was expected to be off the charts with James and Davis, who average a combined 52.5 points a game on 49.7 percent shooting. The Lakers have the highest field goal percentage in the league (48.6 percent), are 14th in rebounds (45.8 a game), fifth in assists (26.1 a game) and first in blocked shots (7.2 a game).
Vogel entered the season stressing defense, and the Lakers have responded by being third in defensive rating, giving up 104.6 points per 100 possessions.
Dwight Howard said Friday that he's not surprised that the Lakers are in such a strong position at this point in the season.
"I think we have a very great group of guys who enjoy the game of basketball and who enjoy each other," Howard said. "We have a lot of fun winning. The culture here is amazing. Our fans have been great. We've just got to keep doing what we're doing."
This much is clear: An A grade is elusive, perhaps just as elusive as the Larry O'Brien trophy itself.
