NBA Rumors: Lakers Coach Vogel Literally Saved Job With Win

The Los Angeles Lakers have been.. let's face it.. dreadful of late. Even Lakers legend Magic Johnson was bashing them for lack of effort. According to a new report, head coach Frank Vogel's job was hanging by a thread after their embarrassing blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets this weekend, and he literally saved his job with the Lakers' big win over the Utah Jazz on Monday. 

Bill Oram and Sam Amick of The Athletic report today that after the Nuggets loss, "sources say that behind-the-scenes... Lakers coach Frank Vogel... was under fire more than ever before." They added:

By the time the Lakers and Jazz tipped off on Monday night, sources said, Vogel was coaching for his job after he narrowly avoided being fired in the wake of the 37-point loss in Denver 48 hours earlier. Had a scene like that repeated itself against the Jazz, many believed it would have been Vogel’s last game.

The Lakers, perhaps sensing the urgency, delivered a "statement" against Utah, with a 101-95, punctuated by an insane monster posterization of Rudy Gobert by Russell Westbrook. 

RUSS ENDED RUDY AT THE RIM 🤯 pic.twitter.com/KqqNpTejkl

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 18, 2022

LeBron James called it "electrifying" and "big-time." 

As for Vogel, he said the team's 'effort'—which had been questioned by Magic Johnson—was finally there in this one. “It’s been what’s commanded of our guys,” Vogel said. “It hasn’t shown up the last couple of games. We’ve all been disappointed. We’ve all been called out and coached hard on it, and it finally came around.”

In the meantime, he will continue to have his job on the line, on a daily basis, it seems. The Athletic says Vogel "is being evaluated on a game-to-game basis and remains at risk of being fired soon if the progress doesn’t continue, sources said."

Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports