"You have LeBron James on your team, you have that ability" - Frank Vogel confident the LA Lakers will catch momentum moving forward
LeBron James and the LA Lakers are in a tough spot right now. They have dropped to six games under the .500 mark following their latest 109-104 loss against the Dallas Mavericks.
Nevertheless, head coach Frank Vogel seems optimistic about the team improving their form over this final stretch of the regular season. Vogel spoke to reporters recently and mentioned that it is common for many teams to have a subpar regular season and catch momentum at the right time. He said (via Spectrum SportsNet):
"We have not seen with this year's team, sustainable success and winning, we just have not seen it yet. It does not mean it cannot happen. We've seen throughout the course of sports history where teams have subpar regular seasons and catch fire at the right time."
Vogel also spoke about the luxury of having a player of LeBron James' caliber on the team and how his presence will come in handy in this challenging stretch ahead.
"If you've LeBron James on your team, you've that ability. So we're maintaing our hope that we can continue to build our habits, get over this hump."
"We've seen throughout the course of sports history where teams have subpar regular seasons and catch fire at the right time." Frank Vogel on his confidence that the #Lakers can get back on track. https://t.co/WgJnoX7us7
LeBron James and LA Lakers have the second-toughest schedule ahead
As per Tankathon, the LA Lakers have an uphill task ahead as they have the second-toughest remaining schedule in the 2021-22 NBA regular season.
A top-six finish seems out of sight, so LA will be aiming for a more realistic target, which is a seventh or eighth-place finish. This will allow the Lakers to have the cushion of getting two opportunities to make the playoffs if they lose their first game of the play-in tournament.
The LA Lakers will need LeBron James and Russell Westbrook to be at their absolute best during this final phase of the regular season. The duo's importance cannot be understated with Anthony Davis likely to be out until the play-in tournament. James and Westbrook need to work on their chemistry soon.
Westbrook has had difficulties playing alongside ball-dominant players like James, leading to his personal struggles this year. The former OKC Thunder star hasn't been able to score as freely as he has in the past due to this.
James has had to bear the load because of that, but his MVP-caliber production of 28.9 points per game isn't transitioning into collective success for the 17-time champions.
It takes a lifetime to perfect an unguardable shot. Here are some of @KingJames' best fadeaway jumpers as a Laker. https://t.co/opI2CgmGJX
Nevertheless, the LA Lakers have shown on numerous occasions that they can be a difficult opposition to deal with if they execute their plans to perfection. They just need to find consistency in their end product to have a legitimate shot at making some noise in the 2022 playoffs if they make it there.