NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

September 30, 2020

Frank Vogel

Los Angeles Lakers

Game 1: Pregame

Q. Just wondered, what have your observations been of the players over these past couple days, and have things ticked up at all ahead of Finals Game 1 compared to the stroll through the Western Conference?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, our guys have been incredibly locked in ever since the first round of the playoffs when we were playing the hottest team in the bubble in the Portland Trailblazers. I would say there has not been a great change from that, but that's not to say that they are not up for the moment. They are extremely locked in.

Q. Is there something at the top of the scouting report for Miami, the No. 1 thing that you have to focus on?

FRANK VOGEL: Probably fouling. I think they are great at getting to the free throw line. If we can play with discipline, not give them opportunities to shoot free throws, set their defense, that will help us win games, because they are great at getting to the free throw line.

Q. Is there an increase in the buzz down there at all? Does it feel different now that it's the Finals?

FRANK VOGEL: Slightly but not as much as you would typically expect for the NBA Finals. We just sat in traffic for some soccer moms waiting to pull into a little soccer tournament pulling in over there.

So that didn't feel like the NBA Finals. Only a handful of media members here in-person. I know that's very different than what the NBA Finals look like.

But there is a little bit of an uptick for sure, yes.

Q. Any chance you'd like to reveal your starting center for tonight?

FRANK VOGEL: No thanks.

Q. What challenges does Miami present for a two-big lineup -- if you go to it?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, just spacing. They run a lot of action. They are great at driving and cutting. They are not a team that really isolates a lot. It's not about, you know, having our five-man deal with a three-point shooter and trying to just double-team the iso. It's a great ball movement offense. So you know, puts a lot of pressure on fives to run around the three-point line. Opens up space in the paint.

Q. Before the playoffs started, you talked about something Lionel Hollins did, a video about Kobe. Anything sort of similar that you guys do in your preparation for this series when you guys are pretty close to the goal line?

FRANK VOGEL: We do have a video. It's not really Kobe related. Just something to get the guys a little hyped up right before we go out. Nothing special. It's about us and our season.

Q. How have the style of play of the Blazers, Rockets and Nuggets prepared you in any way for the way Miami plays?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, each of those opponents, there is an element of that series that has helped us prepare for this series for sure. You know, the way you have pay attention to Dam and CJ in the Portland series with having the bigs up against the deep shooters like we'll have to do in this series; and I think Houston switching is going to be similar when we see man-to-man defense. Miami does a lot of switching. I think that series helped us sharpen what we have to do there.

And then playing against Jokic is, in a lot of ways, similar to playing against Bam with him having the ball and his passing ability and all the cutting they do off of him.

I think there's been a little bit of all of those series that give us lessons and sharpen us for this series.

Q. Kind of a two-part question. It's been 85 days now since both of these teams got here, moved to Orlando for this. Has it been more challenging than you anticipated and were you always confident you would even make it this far?

FRANK VOGEL: You know, I think when they started talking about the bubble, I had reservations that we would make it to the end. But once I got here and saw the setup, it's just a remarkable set up they have put in place here for safety, for testing, to keep us all obviously away from COVID. Once I saw that, I had a great deal of confidence that we would get to the finish line.

The first part of your question, was has it been --

Q. Harder than you expected.

FRANK VOGEL: I would say, you know, it has not been harder than I thought it would be. I think I would say it has been less hard. Obviously I miss my family dearly, but I really enjoy the group of guys that we have, and you know, the element I've tried to embrace as a positive is that it's been all basketball, which is just fine with me, you know, because this is my life and this is my passion. I have enjoyed that aspect of just round-the-clock study and watching games and getting back after it the next day. Plus we've been winning. Obviously when you're winning, everything in life is better. Everything's better. So I think that's been part of it, too.

Q. Is there anyone, a coach, mentor, friend, someone who has been to the Finals before that in the last day or two has given you advice about being in this stage?

FRANK VOGEL: No. I've got a lot of obviously friends in the coaching industry that reach out and kind of talk about the Miami Heat and whatnot, but not necessarily someone that's been in the Finals and want to talk about this stage.

Q. Any advice --

FRANK VOGEL: Coach [Rick] Pitino had some ideas about attacking the zone, so that was fun.

Q. That's a nice segue for my question about what you've noticed about Miami's zone and what makes it so effective? They have used it a lot this season?

FRANK VOGEL: It's interesting, when you play hard, everything looks good. And Miami plays extremely hard, so they are active, when they are in their zone, they are talking, moving, getting hands on balls and working to contain the basketball, they are moving side-to-side and the activity is what makes it a good defense. Credit their culture for being a hard-playing team.

Q. Sort of in the same vein, it seems to me that there is a little bit of an uptick walking around the arena today, people talking about, "Can you believe we've made it to the NBA Finals and this close to being able to go home?" How do you guard against the light at the end of the tunnel before you're actually there?

FRANK VOGEL: It's easy to start thinking that way, but really, the magnitude of what we are playing for, to me, takes precedent. I feel like all of our guys are really locked in on that more than, you know, having a foot out the door and getting ready to go home. So I haven't really addressed it with our guys, that part of it.

We've talked about, this is a bigger stage now; this is the final round, two teams left and what it's like to play in big games and the mindset that you have to have, but not really anything about going home.

Q. Both you guys and the Heat have shown throughout the season and the playoffs not only having star players make key plays late in games but also role players. What do you think's gone into being able to form that kind of identity?

FRANK VOGEL: I think from early on in the season, we had the mindset that we knew Anthony and LeBron were going to get double-teamed, especially late in games. The idea, the identity to have a mindset to have it could be a different guy every night to be the quote, unquote, third scorer or the guy that makes the big fly or the big play has prepared everybody for that moment. The identity, the idea that we have two superstars, we have to become a team first, I think brings the importance of everybody playing their role, and guys have really stepped up. You have to credit all the guys that have been here with the team with two superstars.

But we have a team full of guys that have really starred in their roles, whether that's our centers, the guys playing on the perimeter, defending, knocking down threes, guys that are not playing that lead the right way; it has been a team effort.

Q. LeBron has talked about how challenging the bubble has been for him, and Anthony Davis said yesterday that some guys on the Lakers have loved it, alluding to the fact that he may be one of them. What have you seen from AD and how he's responded to this whole situation?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, he's obviously elevated his game and showed that he's built for the big moments. Obviously he didn't get a lot of opportunities for deep playoff runs with the teams he had with the Pelicans in New Orleans, but with the team that's surrounding him right now, I think has really put him into position to shine. He's done that. Up to this point he's been terrific on both ends of the floor, hitting big shots, making big defensive plays and really leading behind the scenes, as well.

Hopefully we can finish strong in that regard.