NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

September 29, 2020

Frank Vogel

Los Angeles Lakers

Practice Day

Q. Frank, LeBron and AD are one and two in the playoffs in finishing at the rim. Obviously, that's something that defenses try to take away. What about their playing next to each other helps enable their ability to still get there and how has that played out in the postseason so far?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, obviously both of them draw enormous attention from the defense, draw double teams, draw help when they are attacking the basket, and that often frees up the other guys. But we have a lot of weapons. Again, on the perimeter or at the rim with our vertical spacing, that allows them the space, the proper space to finish at the rim.

Q. I was wondering, to you is there a hallmark of an Erik Spoelstra-coached team and what separates that from others?

FRANK VOGEL: Play hard, play together. They always play that way. They have great toughness, high care factor on the defensive end, and they always trust the pass. It's just a physical, tough-minded brand of basketball with their culture, with Coach Spo's teams.

Q. Frank, everyone has had to adjust to this environment, but the importance of LeBron's leadership in that aspect, what's the biggest adjustment you've seen him make to being inside the bubble for so long, and how has that had a trickle-down effect on the rest of your players?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, it's important to get out of your room in this environment, the bubble. Obviously when your captains, LeBron and Anthony, are going to be at every sort of team event we have, a pool party or barbecue or anything like that that we have or eating in the team meal room with his teammates, I think that is infectious to the group in terms of guys wanting to be together. And leaning on each other in this unique situation where we're away from our families and away from the real world, really. So I think that's probably the biggest thing.

Q. When you see the news out of Tennessee today that the Titans had to shut things down because of COVID-19, does it remind you of the situation you guys are in down here and just the remarkable nature of the operation they've put together to keep everybody healthy so far?

FRANK VOGEL: We feel very fortunate. Seeing that news, it definitely does make me appreciate what has been created here by Adam Silver and the NBA because obviously all of our efforts could be grinded to a halt if we were outside of a bubble and in a less safe environment. So, credit to the NBA for putting this thing together. It's really remarkable how it's came together. Hopefully we're able to finish.

Q. You guys have been tested in so many ways this year. You've had a front row seat to see LeBron's leadership and how it's operated. What have been your impressions of how he's steered you through all sorts of different things?

FRANK VOGEL: He's the best leader I've ever been around, simplest way to put it, in terms of players. Obviously like you said, we've dealt with a lot, a lot of heavy emotional types of adversity that we've gone through, and he sets a great tone with his example. But he is also a great leader from a communicative standpoint, talking to guys, talking to the group about the right mindset to have, to be in certain situations, being the leading voice when things occur where we're all not really sure how to deal with it or what to say. You know, he's been a leading voice in those situations. Just an integral part of our success this year.

Q. You mentioned a barbecue earlier; where can I find that food at?

FRANK VOGEL: That's a rough question. That's a Rob Pelinka question. He's the one that sets those up. We ended up not having a barbecue because it rained every time we had a barbecue. We ended up eating inside.

Q. Being there's no home-court advantage here, I was curious if you looked up the numbers on some of your guys for home versus away games. With the fake crowd noise, have you seen a difference in how guys play whether it's a so-called home game versus a so-called away game? Have you seen a difference there?

FRANK VOGEL: I have not. I haven't studied home and away numbers, for obvious reasons, because it is really the same environment for every game. So, I haven't noticed a big difference. You sit on the other side of the floor. The colors are different on the screens that are flashing during intros there, but once the game starts, there's very little difference between home and away.

Q. We just heard Jimmy come up and say that he doesn't like to be thought of as the underdogs, but statistically speaking they very much are. You were also in that situation with the Blazers. Do you see a difference, even though it's the championships and you both made it here, in playing against a team that kind of has nothing to lose because they weren't supposed to be here?

FRANK VOGEL: I don't know. I really don't view them that way, to be honest. They're 12-3 in these playoffs, just like us. They've beaten three teams - Milwaukee on pace for a 60-win season and Boston and Indiana with plus 50-win seasons. So, they've beaten three games teams in these playoffs.

I really don't view them that way. I think they're a great basketball team that we're going to have to play great to beat.

Q. Obviously there's normally a much bigger wall up between players and coaches. I'm curious if being in this environment you've gotten to know the players in a much different way than you typically normally would have?

FRANK VOGEL: Of course. You know, we've spent a lot of time together, far more dinners and just being around each other, seeing each other around the campus more than we would normally be in if we were at home. When practice is over, everybody goes home to their families, to their own lives. We've all been still together.

So it's been sort of a hidden benefit, a silver lining to my relationship with our group and our group's relationship with each other. Hopefully it bodes well for us in these Finals.

Q. I wanted to ask you about Rondo and the match-ups that he's going to be facing against Miami, maybe Goran Dragic, very experienced player, maybe Duncan Robinson at times and Tyler Herro, of course. What do you expect from Rondo in the series?

FRANK VOGEL: He's going to be Rondo. You know, he really impacts the game on both sides of the ball, both with his ability to orchestrate the offense, put guys in positions to score and then deliver the ball. But also, he just makes winning plays. Defensively he's got great lateral speed and athleticism. Defensively obviously he's been an all-defensive player throughout his career, and he'll do whatever is necessary to get the job done on that end of the floor, as well.