Lakers News: Frank Vogel Sends Brash Warning Shot To Opposing Teams Facing LA

First-year head coach Frank Vogel has plenty of reason to believe that teams will be in for a rude awakening when they face the souped-up Los Angeles Lakers. The purple and gold are brimming with talent, led no less by the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The chances of the Lakers going further down the NBA postseason wars has undeniably been better. In fact, some feel that they are among the teams tipped to win it all. However, that belief remains on paper - meaning the purple and gold need to put up or shut up. Vogel has issued fair warning to teams facing the Lakers this 2019-20 season.

"You're coming to play [the] L.A. Lakers, you're going to get hit," Vogel said in a report from Omnisport. "You're going to get smashed in the mouth."

Initially, those comments seem to indicate something physical or dirty. Prized recruit Anthony Davis explains that this is more of wanting the Lakers to enter the season with a defensive mindset since Vogel has been known to focus more on the defensive side.

"Obviously, you're not going to try to injure anyone or do anything stupid. We know we have to play with physicality. We did a good job doing that today. So in a way, that makes it a lot easier against our opponent," he said.

Seeing how the Lakers are facing a stacked Western Conference, defense could be the key to their NBA title drive. Standing in their way are the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets, two teams who also improved over the NBA offseason.

Also mentioned in a previous post are the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers. These are teams that cannot be counted out. The Dubs still have its original big three (Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson). The Jazz, Nuggets, and Blazers have shown their vast improvement last season and also made some tweaks in their respective rosters.

For the Lakers, the key is getting other players involved. Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley, Dwight Howard, and Danny Green need to their part as well if the Lakers are determined to win their 17th NBA title.