Lakers: Frank Vogel Cites a Casual Approach As Reason For Los Angeles' Failures

This team needs to play harder against the really bad teams.

In order to be successful in the NBA, you have to beat the teams that you're supposed to beat. So far, the Lakers have not done that this season. That has resulted in a lackluster 13-13 start and a whole lot of disappointment for fans in Los Angeles. 

When this roster was drastically overhauled during the offseason, Lakers fans were already skeptical. Bringing in a guy like Russell Westbrook, who likes the ball in his hands, seemed like a questionable decision. But there is no denying the talent and potential that is there. 

So far, things have not worked out for Frank Vogel and his squad. After a disappointing loss to the Grizzlies on Thursday night, the Lakers head coach cited a casual approach to bad teams, especially ones that are missing players. That was the case with Memphis as they played without star players Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks. 

I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, I’ve seen it happen with our group this year, you know what I mean?. We have to keep our foot on the gas and continue to play, you hope that it’s not like that, that that’s not the case, but we have seen it with this group and we’ve just got to find a way to prevent that from happening.

The Lakers turned the ball over a ridiculous 22 times in the contest. The Grizzlies capitalized and scored 27 of their points off of those turnovers. That obviously did not play into Los Angeles' favor down the stretch. 

Ultimately, the Lakers fell to Memphis 108-95 after a big win over the Celtics the game before. And that's sort of been the theme in Los Angeles for the season. One big win over a tough team followed by a disappointing and often sloppy loss. 

Less than 30 games into the year, there is time for the Lakers to get things turned around. But they won't do that by turning the ball over 20-plus times against literally any team.