NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 1, 2020

Frank Vogel

Los Angeles Lakers

Practice Day

Q. Frank, what's the way that you might change or evolve your approach to Game 2 given the news that it's doubtful you're going to see either Bam or Goran Dragic? How does that impact the way you're going to prep for the game?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, we first plan on those guys playing. Injury report can change overnight, and we have to be prepared for those guys to be in until gametime, until they're ruled out. Secondly, they've got a deep team. We saw that in the fourth quarter with how Nunn played, how Olynyk played, how Derrick Jones played. We know they have an army of guys that play a great style of play that's very, very difficult to guard, that work extremely hard on the defensive end, and we've got to prepare for whoever is in uniform.

Q. Question for you about the runs that you guys got in, three different really nice sustained runs. When you guys get into that mode, it seems like you're just running downhill. Are those essential against the way Miami plays defense, or is it just a wonderful benefit of the way that you guys tend to play?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, we have that ability to explode. We've shown that throughout the course of the season. What I liked about it is that we did it mostly with defense and half-court offense. We're really moving the basketball well. I think when we're at our best, it's mostly happening on the break by getting stops and getting out on the break, and we really didn't run to the level that I think we're capable of, but credit that bench unit. In that first quarter when Rondo, Alex and Kuz came in, and KCP hit some big shots in the latter part of the first quarter, and just Markieff coming in, LeBron coming back in with the second unit, those guys really dominated that stretch. But I was really pleased with how our bench played.

Q. When it comes to getting rotation, you've had a pretty big rotation with these guys, and obviously we talk about your depth and your veteran leadership, but how do you balance, especially in a series like this, giving everybody a chance but also keeping it tight enough where you guys can be competitive and keep an advantage?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, I mean, we don't want to try to give guys a chance, so to speak. We're going to play the guys that are going to help us win that stretch. Whether that means nine-man rotation, 10-man rotation. We want to keep fresh bodies in there as much as possible, which I probably overextended a couple guys in certain stretches last night. I have to be careful about that. But the way this team plays, it makes sense to only use one of our bigs. That could potentially be JaVale at some point in this series because even though we're using Dwight's physicality right now to start, I think his length could present a problem for them on the defensive end.

So everybody on our team has got to stay ready and we'll approach each game with the combinations we feel like are going to win that game.

Q. You mentioned the shots that KCP hit at the end of the first quarter. He shot the ball pretty well since the start of the Playoffs, but just how much is that threat of spacing from a wing player, how much does that do for the rest of your offense? And obviously I know last night you said his defense is kind of where he makes his money on this team, but I'm curious more specifically that threat of spacing, against what Miami is trying to do.

FRANK VOGEL: It matters. I mean, gravity is always good for your offense, and that's what we described even when they're not making shots, just being on the floor, you have to honor them out there. But Miami is an intelligent defense that honors the paint first no matter who's out there. It doesn't matter who's on the perimeter, they're going to flood to the paint and fly around like we do on the backside, getting to shooters. I don't know if it's a great value to just have gravity against this team because obviously they're great at guarding the paint and getting shooters.

Q. You've kind of consistently complimented Miami, Coach Spoelstra and kind of had a respect to the way they fight. What do you expect from them in Game 2 knowing that certainly this is a team that shows up every night?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, you said it right there. We have great respect for them and how much they fight and how hard they play, how well connected they are. Their offense, you know, is sort of a -- we call it an everyone-is-live offense. The movement, the diversity, the balance that they play with, everybody is a threat on the court at all times with how well they move without the basketball and how good their bigs are at passing the basketball.

We feel like this Miami team is as difficult to guard as any team we've played in the Playoffs thus far, and there's a reason they're 12-3 coming into this series. We can't let our guard down at all.

Q. You guys are going to play with the Kobe jersey tomorrow once again. How important is it for you representing Kobe in the Finals knowing that the last time the Lakers were there he was the MVP of the Finals?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, that's what you think about when you think about Kobe Bryant. Obviously, he makes big shots throughout every regular season and whatnot, but when you think about Kobe Bryant, you think about championships, and you think about the NBA Finals and all the big moments that he had in the Finals. While we wanted to embody what he stood for and represent his memory all throughout the year, we want to do that more so now than ever.