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Will the Lakers fire Frank Vogel? Head coach’s job reportedly in ‘serious jeopardy’

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Lakers head coach Frank Vogel might be on the hot seat.

According to The Athletic’s Bill Oram and Sam Amick, Vogel was “coaching for his job” by the time the Lakers’ game with the Jazz tipped off on Monday, Jan. 17.

The Lakers suffered a 37-point loss to the Nuggets a couple of days before. Oram and Amick added that “had a scene like that repeated itself against the Jazz, many believed it would have been Vogel’s last game.”

Led by LeBron James, the Lakers defeated the Jazz by a final score of 101-95.

Vogel is now reportedly being evaluated on a game-to-game basis.

Heading into Wednesday night’s game vs. the Pacers, Vogel spoke to the speculation. 

“I don’t feel like I’m under siege,” Vogel said. “It comes with the territory, comes with being the Lakers coach. We have high expectations. This fan base really cares. It’s a big market, and I wouldn’t want it any other way, to be honest with you. I want people to care, I want people to want the best and to command excellence out of our group. That’s what we command of ourselves; that’s just the way it is.”

Just 15 months removed from an NBA championship, is it fair that he could lose his job? 

“It’s really not up to me whether it’s fair or not,” Vogel said. Postgame, despite losing to the Pacers, the Lakers are not set to make any personnel changes as per Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Why is Lakers head coach Frank Vogel reportedly coaching for his job?

Following their loss to the Suns in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers underwent some big changes in the offseason, headlined by them swapping a lot of their depth for Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade. They entered the season with some of the highest odds to win the championship, but they have been hovering around .500 through the halfway mark of the season.

While they’ve dealt with a number of injuries — James missed time at the start of the season and Anthony Davis has been out for an extended period with a sprained MCL, most notably — “the organization’s decision-makers are closely monitoring the key question of whether Vogel still has command of the locker room,” Oram and Amick report.

NBA insider Marc Stein mentioned that he’s also heard Vogel’s job is “under serious threat.”

The Lakers improved to 22-22 with their win over the Jazz, placing them seventh in the Western Conference standings. They rank 24th in offensive efficiency, 18th in defensive efficiency and 23rd in net rating.

Heading into the team’s matchup with the Jazz, James took to Twitter to apologize to Laker Nation, promising that “we’ll be better.”

James’ tweet came on the heels of Lakers legend Magic Johnson being critical of the team’s effort in their blowout loss to the Nuggets.

The Lakers are back in action on Wednesday when they host the Pacers. They will then hit the road for six straight games that will see them face the Magic, Heat, Nets, 76ers, Hornets and Hawks.

The Lakers are currently 15-11 at home and 7-11 on the road.

How much longer is Frank Vogel under contract with the Lakers?

On Aug. 6, 2021, the Lakers announced that they had agreed to a contract extension with Vogel. According to Oram and Amick, it was only a one-year extension that will take him through the 2022-23 season.

Vogel has been head coach of the Lakers since the 2019-20 season. He led them to a championship in 2020, the franchise’s first in a decade.

Who are the assistant coaches on the Lakers?

The Lakers have six assistant coaches listed on their staff: David Fizdale, Phil Handy, Mike Penberthy, Miles Simon, Quinton Crawford and John Lucas III. If Vogel is fired, there’s no word yet on if/which one of them would replace him, even on an interim basis.

MTK Global Finalizes Card For March 11 at Grays Civic Hall in Essex

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MTK Global will head to Grays Civic Hall in Essex for a scheduled card on Friday 11 March – with a number of talented prospects in action.

Inder Bassi (5-1) looks to continue his good run of form, following a run of three straight victories in 2021, the most recent of which coming when he defeated Vasif Mamedov in December.

Former Southern Area champion Shaquille Day (13-1, 2 KOs) makes his long-awaited return too, as he steps into the ring for his first fight since March 2020.

Undefeated Mitchell Frearson (5-0-1) will compete for the first time in over two years, with the same also applying to impressive light-heavyweight Burim Ahmeti (1-0).

Jordan Purkiss (2-0, 1 KO) stays active as he prepares for his third professional fight after making his debut in September, while highly-rated James Osborne enters the paid ranks for the first time.

MTK Global Promoter Lee Eaton said: “We’re really pleased that we can get some of our local fighters out on this bill in Essex in March. A lot of them haven’t had the chance to fight during the pandemic, and so this is the perfect chance for them to return.

“They all have bright futures ahead of them, so I’m confident that it is going to be a fantastic night of action at the Grays Civic Hall.”

Talk to the cash app team to enable cash app direct deposit

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“Sure, LeBron James has to get the most credit, but Kyrie averaged 27 in that finals and hit the dagger to secure the title” – Stephen A. Smith supports Kyrie Irving for response to heckling Cleveland Cavaliers fan

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Kyrie Irving got chirped at by a Cleveland Cavaliers fan Monday night. The Nets lost 114-107 but not before Irving shot back at the heckler.

The exchange between Irving and the fan can be heard in the video embedded in Stephen A. Smith’s tweet:

I completely side with KYRIE on this one. Sure, @KingJames has to get the most credit, but KYRIE avg 27 in that finals and hit the dagger to secure the title. Fair is Fair. @cavs don’t win title w/o KYRIE. Cleveland — of all places — should appreciate him most of all. twitter.com/complexsports/…

Stephen A. Smith on Kyrie Irving’s 2016 Finals performance

Headlined in the tweet is Smith’s opinion on the situation. Smith said:

“Sure, LeBron James has to get the most credit, but Kyrie averaged 27 in that Finals and hit the dagger to secure the title.”

The play to which Smith referred resulted in the final basket in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals beetween the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.

With just 69 seconds remaining, Cleveland came out of a timeout looking to put the ball in Irving’s hands. After a pick-and-roll with JR Smith forced Stephen Curry to switch with Klay Thompson, Irving was faced with a one-on-one with Curry.

With Curry clamping Irving to cut any possible lane, Irving did his dance, then side-stepped just beyond the arc on the right wing. Irving buried the clutch shot with 53 seconds left.

Curry then failed on his attempt to tie the game with 33 seconds left, and LeBron James hit only one of his two foul shots as Cleveland won 93-89.

The series was so close before Irving’s clutch 3-pointer that they were tied at 699 points apiece in the series.

The championship was the Cavaliers’ first in franchise history, ending a 52-year pro sports title drought for the city of Cleveland. It also made Cleveland the first NBA team to come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win a Finals.

Irving averaged 27.1 points and 2.1 steals for the series. Statistics like those prove him to be effective on both ends of the court, and once one understands the weight of his game-winner in the final minutes of Game 7, Irving’s footprint on the victory is cast. Irving had a large impact throughout the entire series and complemented James and his athletic greatness well.

Throughout the video above Irving is seen doing what he does best, effectively and aggressively.

The only other player on the team to average more points than Irving was James at 29.7 ppg. James also averaged 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks as he was named Finals MVP. James was, of course, a dominant reason for Cleveland’s victory but Irving’s contribution was also crucial.

Irving is a genius in creating space and looking for shot-option creations across the floor. Having a basketball IQ like his flowing with James by his side is an instant recipe for victory. There are many people who could potentially have trouble being in the position he was in. Kyrie showed how well he can mesh in just about any instance, while confidently rising up in the clutch.

Also ReadArticle Continues below

Irving recently returned for the Brooklyn Nets. His first appearance back was against the Indiana Pacers, scoring 22 points with four assists and 3 rebounds in 32 minutes – not bad for his first game of the season.

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Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein

Martin Bakole petitions IBF to scrap Tony Yoka vs Filip Hrgovic eliminator

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Something was bound to come up.

Just under a week after Tony Yoka accepted the IBF’s order to face former Olympic rival Filip Hrgovic in a final eliminator, ESPN reports that Martin Bakole’s team “sent letters to the IBF” requesting that they cancel the bout, as Yoka is allegedly still under contract to meet Bakole in a postponed matchup.

Nelson claims that Yoka (11-0, 9 KO) co-promoter Jerome Abiteboul stated in writing that the fight was delayed as opposed to canceled. Considering the “400,000 euro” purse at stake, it’s no surprise that Bakole (17-1, 13 KO) is looking to get his spot back.

Odds are we’ll get our answer sooner rather than later, as “IBF president Daryl Peoples told ESPN that a ruling was imminent.”

Honestly, Yoka vs. Hrgovic (14-0, 12 KO) and Yoka vs. Bakole are both really solid matchups, so it’s a no-lose situation for the viewers. Definitely a win-lose situation for Hrgovic, though; should Bakole’s petition succeed, he’ll have to go back to combing the IBF rankings for a potential dance partner. Fellow medalist Joe Joyce is next in line, followed by Agit Kabayel, Murat Gassiev for some reason, and Andy Ruiz Jr.