The Los Angeles Lakers are scrambling to get things right and that led head coach Frank Vogel to institute a new policy. And it’s a simple one at that.
“The open man is more talented than any individual on our squad,” Vogel told reporters on Friday, via the Los Angeles Times.
There is one variable, however. And it comes in the form of a four-time NBA MVP.
“Except for maybe LeBron James,” Vogel said with a smile. “I think Bron’s mentioned that.”
Of course James mentioned that. There was no chance he’d let that comment slide with some clarification.
Off in the distance, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony could be heard whispering, “And me!” “And me!” “And me!” Probably.
But all jokes aside, the new approach seemed to work for Los Angeles. At least for one night.
James scored 33 points and turned the ball over just twice in a 116-95 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook, unselfishly, posted just eight points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists. Melo added seven off the bench and Davis? Well, he didn’t play due to a sore knee.
It was a step in the right direction for the Lakers, who are back above .500.
“Really proud of our group for taking the lessons of last night’s game, where we failed to make the simple play, to see the open man in front of us and try not to force things to certain guys,” Vogel added. “We really bought into that morning film session and tried to have it carry over into tonight’s game. We moved the ball beautifully. And as a result, the shot quality was high and we had a great shooting night from the perimeter. Really proud of our guys.”
Now Los Angeles needs to string some positive nights together. They’ll get a crack at that on Sunday night when they host the Orlando Magic.
