NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LAKERS VS. NUGGETS

September 26, 2020

Frank Vogel

Los Angeles Lakers

Game 5: Pregame

Q. Wanted to start if there's any update on how AD has progressed with that ankle over the last couple days?

FRANK VOGEL: He's good to go. Some minor soreness but he's good to go.

Q. LeBron said the key to him to a close-out game is trying to match the level of desperation of the opponent. He's been able to do so in his career. I think he's won 15 of his last 16 close-out games. How much of that message can you take and apply to the rest of the team and how much does it help just having LeBron and the experience going into that kind of a game?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, obviously LeBron's experience is invaluable in this situation. You know, I expect our guys to feed off that, that knowledge, the experience, and obviously he's as good as anyone, ever, at setting a tone for your team in the locker room.

Obviously that's going to be a big plus for us, and you know, he's correct. We have to exceed the Denver Nuggets' energy, not let them play harder than us, but we have to exceed it.

Q. Tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of the day you guys came together for Media Day which, yes, that's the answer, probably. Can you reflect on that day, what jumps out at you and can you put words to the face you just made to explain what feels like to have been together for a full year and not be done yet?

FRANK VOGEL: Nothing is normal in a pandemic but this has been one of the most unusual seasons in NBA history. To see that we are at the one-year mark, it's surprising.

It's just weird (laughing) to be quite honest. It's been a long year. The excitement at that time was about what we could be. You know, we knew we had assembled, on paper, a really talented team, yet it really came down to whether we are going to be able to come together and how quickly. That was the mindset at that time, was how quickly could we come together.

Q. Before y'all went into the bubble, there was a lot of talk about asterisks on this season. No one is really saying that anymore. Can you talk about the degree of difficulty of the journey, if that ends any qualifier on this?

FRANK VOGEL: I do. I think this is a harder-than-unusual season and playoff run for the teams that are still surviving. I said that come coming in; I maintain that. It's just going to be one of those things. Everybody is going to know this is an unusual circumstance for everyone, but it's been a mental challenge to be in here this long and to have to endure what we've endured.

Q. We talked before about how you went to the Eastern Conference Finals with LeBron, but now possibly being on the precipice and going to the Finals, does that have any effect on how you prep? Does that make your sense of competitiveness light up when you think about having that opportunity?

FRANK VOGEL: Certainly, my personal competitiveness, is at an all-time high. This is really high-stakes. It's an opportunity of a lifetime to be in this situation with the team that we have, and you know, we want to make the best of it. Obviously those situations were, you know, years ago, and different environments.

For me, the opportunity to go to the NBA Finals was in Miami and their environment down there, and that's difficult to win. This game should be at STAPLES Center right now, so we are not going to have that benefit of the home crowd.

But it really doesn't change anything. We've been playing games in this environment for a couple months now. You know, the focus is really on the task at hand, not the magnitude or the results of the game. It's just how can we cover the pick-and-roll; how can we make the extra pass offensively; how can we play harder than the Nuggets. If you keep the focus there, we'll like our results.

Q. How is it different having that much time with a group? You've never had that much time with a team you've coached. Did the split make it feel almost like two seasons? Were there advantages?

FRANK VOGEL: There were advantages, disadvantages, and the split, it was -- honestly, it came at a bad time for us. You know, some teams were struggling and banged up and it benefitted them. We were rolling. You know, we were playing our best basketball, gearing up for our stretch run. And to have to take four months away and reestablish all those habits, you know, was a challenge, but one our group was up for.

All behind us now. We are in position to advance, with one more victory, to the NBA Finals and that's really the only place our focus is.

Q. Along that same line of questioning, you guys have several people, a message that perhaps you shared with the team going into the season, "Our biggest opponent is going to be in the mirror." But that was anticipating battles in the Western Conference and anticipating things that come up over the course -- injuries -- in a regular basketball season. Do you think that that focus, planting that seed, helped with all the other things you couldn't have anticipated at all?

FRANK VOGEL: I think so. I think that message began with how together our group was going to be. Because we view our chemistry as achievement and that's something that, well, this guy knows that guy, and these guys get along and whatever. It's something that you have to work towards, and you have to have tolerance of each other's flaws and you have to work and build relationships, both on and off the court, and I'm proud of where that's at right now and where that's developed.

But the other message with regard to beating ourselves was about habits and discipline. You know, if we were going to be a team that was reckless with turnovers and reckless with fouls and didn't play to a standard, regardless of who was in front of us, those are ways you beat yourself. You know, just a mindset to establish those habits that are going to win for us in the playoffs.

Q. Going back to that full calendar year, I know for myself -- -- have you tended to lose track of time in the bubble there, maybe forget that it is September?

FRANK VOGEL: Very much so. Especially because we are in Florida and it's 90 degrees every day, still. Somebody told me that it's fall the other day and I didn't really believe them. It's very unusual to be playing playoff basketball in the fall in 90-degree weather. It's the bubble. It's a very unusual circumstance, but we are embracing it, we're having fun, and looking forward to tonight's game.