Doug Gottlieb reacts to Lakers' head coach, Frank Vogel's thoughts on who is deserving of the MVP of the league. In an interview with ESPN, Vogel said the following about LeBron James in reference to James' performance against the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Clippers in back-to-back games.
"In that weekend, LeBron took the toughest assignment in both games. He guarded Kawhi in the Clippers game and did a great job with him there. And then he guarded Giannis in the Bucks game when AD was in foul trouble and did a great job in those two situations," Vogel said on a video conference call with reporters Saturday. "I think that weekend was probably a great indicator or a great measuring stick."
"Nobody impacts winning more than LeBron James. I do believe that he should be the MVP this year," Vogel said. "I believe he should be the MVP and I believe Anthony Davis should be the Defensive Player of the Year. I hope those awards go to our two players."
Gottlieb agrees with Vogel's thoughts on LeBron as MVP:
"Frank Vogel makes the smart argument. Value is who impacts winning the most. And they (Lakers) became the best team in the west and got better and better. And at least a good portion of it is LeBron James' leadership. He is not the best player in the NBA, night in and night out, anymore. He cannot bring that level of defensive athleticism and intensity, nearly the way he used to, but he talks and leads and points guys in the right direction. Leadership is not really something you can measure outside of, not just wins and losses, but wins above what is expected of you...improvement above what anybody could have thought possible...I actually agree with frank Vogel. I don't think two games in a snapshot is why but they were on an upward trajectory and getting better. That speaks to quality coaching and quality leadership on a team...I'm okay with LeBron being MVP (if we go with before the pandemic)"