NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 11, 2020

Frank Vogel

Los Angeles Lakers

Game 6: Pregame

Q. Since you're opening press conference, defense has been the calling card, the point of emphasis. Are there ways that you can sharpen up and get back to some of that compared to Game 5 as you look to start Game 6 here?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, of course there is. We've got to be better in a lot of ways. There's always things you can do as a coach to either tweak the rotation or to tweak some of your coverages, and also to just make sure we're doing certain fundamentals of our defense better.

You know, we looked at all of those things, and I expect a stronger defensive performance tonight.

Q. To follow up what you just mentioned about the rotation, any indications of changing that or some different groupings that you'd like to see together for this one?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, we'll talk about the starting lineup, we'll submit it 30 minutes prior, not before then. And in terms of the other rotations, obviously you guys will have to see that play out throughout the game.

Q. In groups where you've played a lot of guards with AD at the five what have you liked about that arrangement on offense and defense?

FRANK VOGEL: Well you lose a little bit of size at the rim, but with a team that really spaces you out, you can benefit from containment speed, penetration speed, having more ball handlers out there, you can benefit from that. But there's always a give and take. You lose some offensive rebounding, and you lose some size at the basket defensively.

Q. What's the last 48 hours been like for AD and how is he doing?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, he's going to have some soreness in there. The hope is once he gets moving up and down the floor, the adrenaline kicks in, that it shouldn't be an issue. He's going to play through it and he's was good to go.

Q. Do you do anything as a coach to remove the hangover effect of a game like Game 5 that came down to the wire and that was considered winnable?

FRANK VOGEL: For myself or for the team?

Q. For the team, in your role coaching team, do you do anything to try to turn the page?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, next day you come in with the mindset you're up 3-2 in the NBA Finals, new day, new energy, study the tape. There's always answers in the tape. It's always therapeutic. We're all eager to get back in that room and figure out what happened, where we could have been better, and you know, we had a great day yesterday. Continue that this morning. Our group has had a great ability to improve themselves in that film room, so that's the number one thing.

Q. LeBron seems to be getting better and better as he ages. I'm curious, this season, what would you say are the biggest ways in which you've seen him grow?

FRANK VOGEL: That's tough to say. He's already sort of a finished product, you know what I mean. I think just the ability to get this group tied together where we're all so new to each other, the coaching staff, the roster. Just his ability to just get everybody tied together so quickly is one of the ways that I think -- I don't know, obviously didn't coach him before this year, but just making sure that he set the tone with that early on and continued to grow our team together as the season went on is probably the best answer.

Q. Danny Green admitted to receiving death threats after last game. What is the message you give to the entire NBA community in the face of this type of event?

FRANK VOGEL: Yeah, obviously that crosses the line, if that's occurring, certainly crosses the line. This is sports. It's a game. We all want to root for our fan bases, for our teams, but certainly that crosses the line.