Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily ticket to stay ahead of the game and the first to know the latest news, analysis, and insider info for the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. Hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the Purple and Gold since 2005 for media outlets including the LA Times, ESPN and The Athletic, offer traditional journalism, informal commentary, and offbeat humor to provide expert, local analysis. Locked On Lakers takes you beyond the scoreboard for the inside scoops on the biggest stories from within the Lakers locker room and all over the NBA. The Locked On Lakers podcast is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
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The Lakers are Officially Eliminated From Playoff Contention. So What Comes Next?
We all knew it was coming, but still, it's surreal to think that after Tuesday's 121-110 loss to the Suns in Phoenix that the Lakers, who came into the season with so much hype and equal amounts of hope, won't even be in the NBA's play-in tournament. They were officially eliminated from contention. The collapse has been stunning and total, and came pretty quickly considering the Lakers were a 24-24 squad late in January. Things didn't look good them, but this end point didn't seem like a real possibility, either.
So Frank Vogel looked like a guy who knows his time with the team is running short, which makes sense given the team's success, his relative performance, and the total lack of faith shown in him by the organization coming into the year. What remains to be seen, however, is how much the front office will think of Vogel as a scapegoat, lessening their own culpability.
How much did the unending pressure of the season play a role? Carmelo Anthony noted that it was there - an admission that is kinda rare for athletes, who often like to pretend that none of this stuff exists save media narratives - and obviously the constant drumbeat of what's wrong relative to expectations helped suck the fun out of this year.
The other thing that did that? Russell Westbrook. He was such a dominant theme in any discussion of the team that he would inevitably impact how much joy could be had. And wow, was his year joyless. Some ways where he's the avatar for larger failures, others where he was the source. But the whole context around Westbrook - is he competitive or just combative - changed in a season where his play couldn't counter the criticism.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: It's over. We knew it would be, but it's still strange to say.
SEGMENT 2: On the future of Frank Vogel, and the role of pressure in the team's demise.
SEGMENT 3: The Russ Experience has sucked. Is he competitive, or just combative? Why the difference matters.
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