NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LAKERS VS. NUGGETS

September 18, 2020

Frank Vogel

Los Angeles Lakers

Game 1: Pregame

Q. What have been the most important elements of your defense and your growth from when you came into the job last summer and you had a plan, to the point where you are at now?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, the No. 1 thing for us with our size was to try to create a defense that didn't allow the modern NBA offense to invert us too much, and I really like how the plan has taken form, but also developed throughout the course of the year where obviously in this league, there's a lot of switching required.

The teams run action to get your 7-footers guarding on the perimeter and I like how we've evolved and grown into a team that can basically switch back and get our length back at the rim. Better than we were doing earlier in the season. You know, that's probably the biggest thing in terms of the evolution. But I like the way our guys have competed and the care factor has been really high, as well.

Q. What's the unique challenge that the Murray and Jokic screen-roll action presents to any defense?

FRANK VOGEL: They are the two No. 1 targets on their team. Obviously if you double Jamal Murray the way we doubled Dame Lillard, you're putting the ball in the hands of one of the best passers in the league and one of the most unique players in the league.

It's just not as easy to double-team the way we did in Portland, but you know, they hurt you in every way, in every way that they can hurt you. You do A, they do B; you do B, they do A. They have been together for several years now. They have great feel for each other. Obviously it's a big challenge.

Q. We talked to Dwight [Howard] the other day, and he seemed pretty down, like this had been a difficult few months for him. I'm wondering if you talked to him about that at any point, or if you even -- does he hide that? Did you notice that he had been feeling that way?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, Dwight and I have had conversations. We check in with all of our guys, and I'm not going to share the nature of those conversations, but for the most part, he's been upbeat and positive. You know, a good part of the positive energy of our group throughout this bubble, even if it's been hard on all of us.

Q. Obviously you don't want to lose another Game 1, and that may be so obvious. How much does that factor into your message to your guys? How do you try to mentally try to guard against some of the things you might have fallen into in the last two series?

FRANK VOGEL: It's the biggest message coming into tonight. We can't take any playoff game for granted. Just because we lost Game 1 and won the last two series doesn't mean there's not great importance to winning tonight's game.

Everything that we have done over the last couple days to prepare and go over every little thing we can with regards to the Denver Nuggets and what we have to do win this game and this series has carried great importance. It is a big part of today's message, that this is a very important game.

Q. What is the status of Rajon? He was questionable yesterday, and if he's able to play, what was the process of getting him ready for today?

FRANK VOGEL: What went into the process?

Q. Is he available today?

FRANK VOGEL: He is available. No firm minutes' restriction other than let's just be smart with a guy that if we overdo it; his back has flared up a couple times in these playoffs, and he's available, and like I said, just be smart with his minutes.

Q. We heard LeBron yesterday talk about kind of the joy he takes in creating for teammates. Nikola obviously shares that same joy. What does that do for spirit of a team when your two guys that could try and go get 40 or 50 seem to enjoy maybe getting 10 assists more?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, it just creates the energy necessary to win. You know, when you have your best players that are willing passers, everybody likes playing with guys like that. So you know you're going to get the ball. You know you're going to get some equal opportunities. You run the floor harder. You compete on the glass harder. You defend harder.

Like I said, it just affects the energy of the group.

Q. When you were talking about switching defense, the way teams like to hunt matchups it seems so much more in the playoffs. Is that something you've noticed over the past couple years, and how has that switching been so important for you guys?

FRANK VOGEL: Well, five three-point shooters on the floor leads to more switching than usual, and when there's more switching than usual, there's more targeting of matchups. I really like, how I said earlier, how we've evolved in terms of not allowing those matchups to take place. You know, the old school basketball, the double teams in the low post, but there's many areas of the floor now where you have to learn to double-team. We've grown and evolved with that. It's not perfect but I like how we've grown from that.

Q. Any surprise about how few MVP votes LeBron got today?

FRANK VOGEL: A little bit, yeah. You guys all know how I feel about it. To me, he's the MVP of the league this year. No disrespect Giannis. Giannis had a great season. He's a great player. What LeBron does for our team to me is unparalleled, to carry the threat of going for 40 at any point but leading the league in assists and quarterbacking our defense and driving our team to as many wins as we've had and our playoff success; to me, he's our MVP.

I understand how the voting goes, and quite frankly, our whole group and I'm sure LeBron would echo this, is focused on something bigger than any individual accolades. We have a mindset to compete for a championship. We're in a position where we're down to four teams, and that's really where our whole focus is.

Q. In a normal postseason run, maybe the gravity as the rounds advance, you would feel it by the fans and arena. Are there any things that have given you indicators as you advance? Is it maybe the lack of having as many teams on campus? Is there anything that makes tonight's game feel like a Conference Finals game, versus a week ago feeling like a second-round game?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, just knowing that there's only four teams still standing. That's the biggest thing. We know if we're able to beat the Denver Nuggets, we're in the NBA Finals and we have a great chance to achieve our goals. That's the No. 1 thing. Obviously we're not home in L.A. to feel the buzz that comes with a playoff run like this, and you know, that's special. That's really something that I remember from my time in Indiana get to go this point. It grows each round that you advance and you feel that everywhere you go.

That part of it's been missing, but we do understand what's in front of us, a unique opportunity. We're really excited about it. Hopefully we get off to a good start tonight.

Q. With Denver being so big with Jokic and Plumlee, how do you envision using Dwight in this series?

FRANK VOGEL: They will both get their opportunities. I do intend to play both of them and utilize our size. They are a little bit unique from a standpoint of Jokic doesn't play offensively like a 7-footer. He's at the three-point line a ton. We'll have a mix of both big lineups and lineups with Anthony at the five, and maybe even Markieff Morris at the five. We'll throw a lot of different looks at Nikola, and just measure how we're having success with all those lineups throughout the series.

Q. Back in 2014, going back in time a little bit, you guys went up against Pero Antic with the Pacers, people talk about inverting defenses, go back to that series -- did you at that time see where the league was going when that happened, or has it surprised you how quickly things have evolved since then?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, it felt like the league was going in that direction. I obviously didn't anticipate it changing so dramatically, so quickly at that point. You did start to see more five-out types of offenses. That one certainly gave us problems, and it's one that, you know, has quite frankly changed the whole defensive philosophy and scheme that we're using today.

Obviously if we are doing what we have in place today back then, that wouldn't have been such a difficult series. But you learn lessons throughout your coaching career and grow from those experiences.

You know, the interesting thing about that is I remember them looking at their numbers and they averaged 30 three-point attempts per game and we thought they were playing some sort of junk scheme just to try to overachieve. I think 30 threes per game plan right now would rank 25th or 26th in the NBA. So it's pretty remarkable, the shift in style of play over the last few years.

Q. How much weight do you give the MVP award, and do you think that often the true MVP of the league gets it?

FRANK VOGEL: That's difficult to say. You know, I think it's an important award. I think, obviously, the best compete to be the best. They all want to be the best. So I think it's important to them.

But the end of the day, the true great ones really only care about championships. You know, I don't want to speak for LeBron, but my sense is that's where his mind is; that the championship is the only real thing that matters.

The other part of your question was does the true MVP always get it? I don't really know. It's a regular-season award. So whoever has the best 82 games or however many we played this year, you know, they are the one that's deserving and that's fair.

But obviously the great ones want to be measured on what happens in the postseason.