After last season’s horror, the Los Angeles Lakers have sent out a statement with their offseason signings. The front office has totally turned the roster around ahead of the new season. They have surrounded LeBron James and Anthony Davis with multiple veterans and are eager to win back the NBA Championship this season.
But even before the start of the season, the NBA pundits have started targeting the Purple and Gold army with their criticism. Talks are going on regarding the players’ age as most experts feel that the overall roster is filled with old players. There are some legit concerns as to whether this team will be good enough to match up against quicker and more agile teams. Also, there are injury concerns throughout the season.
However head coach Frank Vogel has rubbished the reports. He appeared in a recent interview with Allie Clifton and Chris Geeter McGee and their Vogel joke about the age narrative. He said, “I’m not asked, I’m ???? that we’re old… I’m in my mid-30s, I like that… It sounds wonderful.”
Vogel before coming to the Lakers has coached the Indiana Pacers and the Orlando Magic has complete faith in his players and is eager for the upcoming NBA season as they look to win back the Championship.
The 48-year-old added, “I don’t really like the narrative. I don’t. These guys can play. We have great players on our team. Yes, some of them are towards the end of their career. But, they’re still producing at a high level. If you’re producing at a high level, it doesn’t matter how old you are.”
There is a lot of experience in that Lakers’ roster but the only way age can haunt the Purple and Gold army is if they go through a lot of injuries in the upcoming season. Last year both LeBron and Anthony Davis missed important chunks of the season and the Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs from the first round. So Vogel would not want to repeat that in the upcoming season.
The average age of the Lakers stands at 30.9, a notch higher than the league average age of 26.2 years. Players like LeBron James, Trevor Ariza, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Wayne Ellington and even DeAndre Jordan are all on the wrong side of thirty hence increasing the average age.
But if they can stay healthy and gel as a team then there is no stopping the Lakers this season. Vogel feels that some people will use this ‘too old’ criticism to motivate themselves. “Some guys use it [criticism] as motivation. I just think we are a good team. It has a chance to be great if we come together,” he concluded.
