The Lakers' front office should be on the same hot seat as Frank Vogel

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Let's get right to it.

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Good morning to everyone but especially to...

usatsi

THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

I love the Memphis Grizzlies. They're currently third in the Western Conference and 8-1 since the calendar flipped to 2022 -- tied with the Mavericks for best in the NBA.

Memphis was one of just three teams to earn an A+ in our NBA experts' midseason grades. Jack Maloney has the breakdown:

Maloney: "After sneaking into the playoffs via the play-in tournament last season, the Grizzlies have officially taken the leap. Ja Morant is playing at an All-NBA level, they have the deepest roster in the league (shout-out John Konchar) and are top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating."

But that's not why I love the Grizzlies. Maloney covers it in the second part of his grade:

Maloney: "They play extremely hard, will not back down to anyone and their 14-8 record against opponents that are .500 and above (second only to the Suns) makes it clear this is in no way a fluke. The Grizzlies are for real."

That's what I love most about the Grizzlies.

It's a trait exemplified in a two-game stretch when they beat the Suns on Dec. 27 and the Lakers on Dec. 29 -- a trait they get from their superstar, Ja Morant. He hit the game-winner against Phoenix and then posted 41 points against Los Angeles, the latter of which Memphis trailed by as much as 14 in. I firmly believe teams' attitudes are shaped by their stars' attitudes, and I love Morant's: full of joy and competitiveness.

There's so much more to Memphis, though. There's Jaren Jackson Jr., an absurdly athletic and skilled big man who's even younger than Morant. There's Desmond Bane, a two-way stud who garnered plenty of "Most Improved Player" votes in our midseason awards. I could go on and on. Any player can have a huge impact any night.

All I can say is that the Grizzlies are so much fun, breaking through the slog that the regular season often becomes. They play hard. They play an exciting brand of basketball. They're legit. I'm excited to see what they do over the second half. The A+ for the first half is so well-deserved.

Honorable mention

Florida State and No. 6 Duke treated us to a game-of-the-year contender with the Seminoles pulling out a 79-78 overtime win. FSU has now won 13 straight overtime games, the longest streak in Division I history.

And not such a good morning for...

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THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Even when things should be good in Laker Land, they're not. Let me explain. On Monday night, the Lakers beat the Jazz 101-95, overcoming a 10-point deficit and snapping a three-game losing streak.

Instead of waking up to headlines about their best win of the season, the Lakers received a much different story: According to a report from The Athletic, head coach Frank Vogel "narrowly avoided" being fired after a blowout loss Saturday to Denver, and he is being evaluated on a game-by-game basis.

Listen, the Lakers have been bad this season, and Vogel is a part of that. But there's a bunch of injuries (including to LeBron James and Anthony Davis), the continued struggles of Russell Westbrook (who has never been a good fit) and a poor supporting cast to blame, too. Vogel isn't to blame for any of those three areas. GM Rob Pelinka and senior basketball advisor Kurt Rambis are.

And if Vogel goes, they should go, too, writes our NBA expert Sam Quinn:

Quinn: "It's not as though he traded for Westbrook. Blame for that falls on the executives who saw an opportunity to reshape a championship roster, but only ended up dismantling it. Shooters were replaced with redundant, high-usage ball-handlers. Defenders were swapped out for turnstiles. Even the personality fits were often disastrous. ... It's made the failings of this year's roster feel a tad predictable."

I very much agree with this, especially the feeling of predictability. Westbrook has been awful: 31 players have taken at least 600 shots this season and only one -- Reggie Jackson -- has a worse true shooting percentage than Westbrook. On the other end, the Lakers also lost key defenders Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, among others. The Lakers finished first in defensive efficiency last year. They're 18th this year.

Basically, the Lakers front office took all the good parts of last year's team and gave it away for Westbrook and players who aren't as good as the guys who filled their roles last year. That's a recipe for exactly where the Lakers are now: struggling despite another exceptional year from James, without many solutions, and unable to celebrate celebration-worthy wins.