Lakers Frank Vogel on LA's Slow Start During Their Last Two Matchups
The Lakers fell short to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night and it seems like L.A. has a problem starting their games off strong. This has been a big problem that causes the Lakers to have to compensate for their lack of defense. After being asked about the Laker's rough start, Frank Vogel talked about how the Lakers need to be better.
"I thought we got a few good possessions to start the game. We missed shots and obviously they [the Knicks] scored within their first five possessions or something like that, so our execution on either side of the ball wasn't good enough to start the game," said Vogel.
"Not a good enough start, but a hell of a fight by our guys, to fight back in, compete the way they did. They're competing their tails off to get W's and just falling short. But we have to have a better start. The last two games, we're playing uphill, and that makes things difficult."
Every week the Lakers get outscored, but the last two matchups proved there needs to be more urgency, especially during the first quarter. Not starting strong has caused a lot of issues and does not give L.A. a chance to make a comeback. They make things harder on themselves when they cannot defend and still are missing shots.
Eventually, this leads L.A. to rely on bench players, like Carmelo Anthony. Now, that is not a bad thing, but the Lakers starting lineup needs to show out right from the start. Falling behind has only proved to be detrimental to this team. The Lakers may have fought their way to a win against Detriot, but they were not able to get that same momentum back on Tuesday.
As this roster continues to learn each other, things should begin to fall into place.
