Suns players 'rolled eyes' and controlled their laugh after coach Frank Vogel's locker room outburst: Report
The dust hasn’t settled yet in the Phoenix Suns’ sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves and already Frank Vogel is in the limelight. Vogel couldn’t guide his team in a must-win showdown on Sunday as Phoenix faded late in Game 4. Minnesota’s 122-116 victory sent the highly-touted Suns to an early vacation.
Vogel’s squad arranged a meeting with Minnesota in the playoffs by vaulting over the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 6 seed in the West. They looked like they were headed for the hellish play-in tournament before a strong finishing gave them a guaranteed playoff ticket. The Timberwolves, behind Anthony Edwards, proved to be just a bad matchup for them.
The Phoenix Suns’ issues weren’t just limited to the basketball floor. A news piece from “The Athletic” showed that things were quite bumpy even in the locker room. Frank Vogel reportedly blasted his team after a crucial loss to the LA Clippers on Apr. 9. The players' response to the incident went like this:
“Suns players weren’t buying it. The outburst seemed forced and out of character in their eyes…Vogel’s eruption left players rolling their eyes…One player even told The Athletic he had to keep from laughing.”
The Phoenix Suns were overwhelmed by the Minnesota Timberwolves but it didn’t look like Frank Vogel lost the locker room, though. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker gallantly tried to keep them in the series. Minnesota’s defense and “Ant-Man” were just too much for them to handle.
In all four games, the Suns were right there but could not solve their second-half struggles. They were bad in the third quarter for Games 1-3 but were in the mix right at the end in Game 4. Anthony Edwards just refused to let go every time he smelled Durant and Co. were in trouble.
If Frank Vogel didn't have his team playing together, they would have been massacred in the series.
Frank Vogel could be blamed for the Suns' first-round exit
Frank Vogel knows too well the pressure of handling a star-studded team. He coached LeBron James and Anthony Davis for a couple of seasons and guided them to the 2020 championship. Despite having a flawed lineup during the 2021-22 campaign, the LA Lakers dismissed him when they couldn't make the playoffs.
This year, the Phoenix Suns had a top-heavy lineup that had little depth behind their Big Three of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. Injuries to Booker and especially Beal kept the trio from forming chemistry in the regular season. The Suns' superstars probably thought they could turn on a switch in the playoffs but could not.
Despite many of the obstacles out of his hand, Frank Vogel might still get the axe. Before Game 4 started, Adrian Wojnarowski already reported that he could be in "peril" if the Suns were swept.
Vogel knew the situation he was going into before the season started. No one, even him, likely thought they were getting the broom in the playoffs.