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We’ve got to just make some moves around the edges.The 2021 NBA playoffs have provided fans with some thrilling games to this point, and that continued Sunday afternoon in the Game 1 matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns. You need a lot of luck and you need some breaks along the way, but I feel like the foundation is in place. Add the right complementary players and the Suns could remain one of the Western Conference’s best teams. Like in LA, Vogel is not facing an overhaul.īooker and Durant are still two of the leagues best scorers and the franchise is two years removed from a trip to the NBA Finals. “Because if you develop that habit over 82 games, boy when you get to come playoff time, you know when every team’s trying to ratchet it up it’s already going to be there for us.” 1 habit that we develop all year is that we have to play harder and tougher and with more hustle than our opponents every night,” Vogel said. Vogel is a defensive-minded coach with a successful track record that includes an NBA title and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals as the Indiana Pacers’ coach.Ī dose of D could be just what the Suns need. Their biggest task will be to add a bit of grit to the glamour of Phoenix’s two high-scoring star players. He will be joined by Kevin Young, one of the NBA’s top assistants who was a finalist for the job Vogel eventually got. Vogel has surrounded himself with proven assistants.ĭavid Fizdale was an assistant under Vogel with the Lakers after serving as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks. “I’m intent on really connecting with him and restoring him to an All-Star level player.” “He can be a big deterrent (defensively) and there’s still areas that he can grow offensively,” Vogel said. Ayton faded in the playoffs this year for a second straight season, his averages dipping even before he suffered a rib contusion in Game 5 against Denver. The 24-year-old has dominated at times, disappeared others. The Suns also have to decide whether to stick with center Deandre Ayton or trade him. Once the playoffs rolled around, Paul’s body gave out for a second straight year, a strained groin knocking him out of the Suns’ final four games. The 38-year-old continued to be an effective floor leader in his 17th season, finishing fourth in the NBA in assists at 8.9 per game this season. Point guard Chris Paul was the cog the Suns appeared to missing when he joined the franchise in 2020, leading Phoenix to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993 in his first season.Įxcited to welcome Frank Vogel as our new head coach of the Frank is a true winner with an amazing work ethic, and I am excited to see his positivity and leadership make a big impact here in Phoenix for years to come.

“And as we evaluated where we were and where we wanted to go, we just saw a gap and we needed to fill it.”īooker, one of the league’s best scorers, will be back. “I just felt we needed an injection of a different voice, a different energy. The Suns fired Williams on May 13 after four successful seasons, hoping a change in message could get the franchise back near the pinnacle. When two embarrassing playoff exits followed - Phoenix trailed by 30 at halftime in both home losses - new Suns owner Mat Ishbia and general manager James Jones decided a change was needed. Monty Williams took over a team that won 19 games in 2018-19 and guided it to the NBA Finals within two years.

Vogel did just that with James and Davis, leading a team that went 37-45 the year before to the franchise’s 17th NBA title in the Florida pandemic bubble. If the talent is in place, that you can galvanize a group and take the league by storm.”Ĭommitted to winning. “Now because I’ve done it, I’ve been a part of it. “The first thing I can apply is direct belief,” Vogel said Tuesday during his introductory news conference. The veteran coach is now in a similar situation in the desert, where he takes over a Phoenix Suns team led by stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. PHOENIX (AP) - Frank Vogel led the Lakers to an NBA title in his first season in Los Angeles by finding a way to mesh the skills of stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Frank Vogel owns a 431-389 overall record over 11 seasons with 3 different teams along with a career 49-39 playoff record.