After a rough start to their latest road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers ended it on a high note with a comeback overtime win over the Indiana Pacers to get back to .500 at 10-10.
Wayne Ellington had arguably his best game of the season for the Lakers, knocking down four of his six 3-point attempts and finished with 14 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists off the bench.
Even though the Lakers went just 2-3 on the road trip, Ellington feels they accomplished some things that will help get them back on track moving forward.
“Even with the lineups changing, I think we still grew. I think we still grew as a team,” Ellington said at Friday’s shootaround. “It’s always good to go get on the road and let it just be us for a little bit. But even with the lineup changes and little adversity that we’ve seen, I think we still grew. I think last game was definitely a step in the right direction for us just for continuity and having cohesiveness on the floor together. I think that’s something we’ll continue to build on.”
With the Lakers not getting off to the start they had hoped, the first report of Frank Vogel potentially being on the hot seat came out Friday morning.
Ellington defended his head coach though, believing he has done a good job of adapting based on the personnel he’s had due to injuries, adding that the best is yet to come for this Lakers team.
“For sure. I think he’s been great. Obviously we’ve had guys in and out of the lineup all year long so far and it takes adaptation. You’ve got to adapt, you’ve got to evolve with what we have out there in terms of personnel and I think we’ve done a good job of that. Just like we’re getting to know each other on the floor, I think Frank is getting to know us too.
“Obviously see our strengths and see where he can use us at and plug us in. So I would say it hasn’t been easy, it’s been a task for all of us, but as veterans, I think we’re all close and we’re all still navigating through and we all know the best is yet to come.”
Vogel felt fans gave big boost on road trip
One reason why the Lakers should be able to have more success on the road moving forward is that they have a fan base that travels well, making road games feel like home games oftentimes.
Vogel pointed that out after the Pacers win, appreciating the support they received.
“It gives us a big boost. It really does,” Vogel said.
“I’ve been on the other side of it where we have games here and there’s a lot of Chicago Bulls fans in here and half the arena is red and that’s difficult to play in your own building when a lot of fans are rooting against you. To have that on your side, it definitely gives us a boost.”
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