SB Nation Indiana's editor Brad Wells lists five things to like about Indiana Pacers interim-coach Frank Vogel.
Feb 13, 2011 - The Indiana Pacers were ten games under .500 three weeks ago. Their season was spiraling completely out of control, and the prospect of missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year in a very weak Eastern Conference looked very likely. They'd lost four games on the road, and were embarrassed at home against the Magic. Players like Roy Hibbert had lost their confidence while point guard Darren Collison was questioning his role with the team in coach Jim O'Brien's often confusing offense.
Thus, supposedly against the wishes of team president Larry Bird, owner Herb Simon demanded O'Brien be fired, which he was.
Enter, Frank Vogel, interim head coach.
Since Vogel took over, the Pacers have gone on two winning streaks (4-0 to start, 3-0 recently). Players who seemed to be permanently in O'Brien's doghouse, like Roy Hibbert, Darren Collison, and Dahntay Jones, have been huge contributors in Indiana's impressive record since the firing. It's safe to say that if one wants to point a finger at the Pacers problem (singular) for 2010-2011, it was O'Brien. The team had tuned him out, and for good reason. O'Brien's coaching record since his 'glory' days with the Celtics back in the early-2000s is pretty dismal.
There are many reasons why O'Brien failed to win in Indy. Chief among them was the soul-sucking vortex of negativity that seemed to ooze out of his every pore. It's one thing for a columnist or a fan to have negative feelings about a team. A coach must always keep things positive, especially if the team is young (like the Pacers).
The youthful, positive vibe that interim-coach Frank Vogel has brought to the Pacers has helped them save their season. Knowing this, we at SB Nation Indiana are presenting our Top Five things we like about Frank Vogel as Indiana Pacers coach:
Nothing infuriates Indiana basketball fans more than coaches who like to 'tinker' with rotations. Basketball is not a complicated game. The five best players at their position start the game and, in all likelihood, play the most minutes. A bench of three or four key contributors helps spell the starters and, hopefully, provides a spark when the team needs it most. Identifying the roles of each player, and sticking to those roles, is critical for any team to win consistently.
Simple concept, right?
Jim O'Brien never did this, which was a major reason why the Pacers didn't win much under his guidance.
Frank Vogel seems different. Early on, he locked down his rotations, providing players with a set structure they can expect night in and night out. Dahntay Jones, a player O'Brien never liked and, thus, rotted on the bench in many games, spoke about Vogel's new approach to player rotations and minutes:
That's a comforting feeling to know where your minutes are going to come and if you are going to get minutes. Frank's instilled confidence in everybody to know what type of part they are going to play on this team. It's been helping us.
Jones' 19 points in the fourth quarter against the Timberwolves on Feb. 12th were the difference in that game. Since Vogel assumed the coaching seat, we've seen a solid starting five of Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Darren Collison, Josh McRoberts, and Mike Dunleavy playing most of the minutes. Off the bench are high energy types like Tyler Hansbrough, A.J. Price, Dahntay Jones, and Paul George. Gone are 'small ball' starting lineups designed to match-up with a particular opponent.
The Pacers are pretty well locked into their rotations, allowing players (and fans) to know what to expect every night.
As we said earlier, Jim O'Brien was a nexus of negativity. He called out players in the media. He sat quality contributors on the bench for seemingly no reason. Even his sideline demeanor gave one the impression that O'Brien would rather be somewhere other than Conseco Fieldhouse coaching the Pacers.
Vogel is a different kettle of fish, and that was evident from his very first press conference as head coach.
We've got a good basketball team. I'm taking over a GOOD basketball team. I've got a great deal of confidence that this thing is going to turn around right away. This is the same team that, not so long ago, beat Miami at Miami; beat the Lakers at LA. We've proven we can beat sub-.500 teams regularly. We've had a tough stretch. There's no doubt about that. But, we're ready to turn this around. We're ready to go on a run. I've got a great deal of confidence that's going to happen.
The Pacers players responded to Vogel's confidence in them in a way they never did under O'Brien. Indiana is 7-1 since Vogel said the team will turn things around 'right away.'
Jim O'Brien was famous for doing everything himself. From writing game keys on the marker board to the setting up of pregame videos in the locker room, O'Brien never seemed to trust anyone enough to delegate responsibility to them.
With Vogel, there this less consolidation of authority and a more 'let's help each other out' style of coaching.
Vogel is also listening to his assistants and to his players, gaining advice and suggestions from them and, thus, making them feel part of the team. Novel concept, right? O'Brien rarely did this, which is why O'Brien will shoulder much of the blame for Indiana's dreadful records in his three-and-a-half years coaching the club.
Vogel also understands that this is the NBA, not college basketball. These are professional athletes with years of playing experience. Their advice, and their opinions, on how to attack an opponent on the court are just as valuable as anything the head coach can come up with. Vogel himself even realizes that:
"I think that's the difference in pro coaching versus college or high school, where you're the dictator. In the NBA, you have to sell to these guys that you're in their corner to help them, to organize and tie their whole team together. They all know that winning helps their career, and I want them to know I'm on their side and in their corner."
When Vogel took over for O'Brien, one of the first things he did was begin preaching to the team about creating an identity. This was critical because, pretty much since Reggie Miller retired in 2004, the Pacers have lacked any semblance of an identity. Vogel was intent on changing that:
"We’re changing the identity of our basketball team dramatically," Vogel said. "We’re a power-post team, blood and guts, old-school-smash-mouth team."
Somewhere, Dale and Antonio Davis are smiling.
Establishing Roy Hibbert in the paint and utilizing the diverse talents of Josh McRoberts and Tyler Hansbrough has been priority for Frank Vogel.
"We have to get [Roy Hibbert] the ball and put him in position to where he’s not only going to be a low-post scorer," Vogel said. "We’ve got to get him some easy looks. We’ve got to get his jump shot going again and take advantage of his versatility."
In the seven games prior to O'Brien being fired, Hibbert averaged 21 minutes a game. The Pacers went 1-6. With Vogel at the helm, Hibbert is now averaging 29 minutes a game and getting back to producing the kinds of impressive numbers fans should expect from the seven-footer (16 ppg, 8 boards, 1.5 blocks).
With Hibbert producing in the paint, this has also allowed point guard Darren Collison to run more pick-and-roll, something Collison excels in but, for whatever reason, O'Brien didn't seem to enjoy running during his tenure. This has increased the team's scoring which, not surprisingly, has increased the amount of 'Ws' in the wins column. The Pacers are averaging 107 points a game under Vogel. They've eclipsed the 110 point threshold three times, and have yet to play in a game where they did not score under 100.
Locking down rotations, delegating authority, and creating a positive atmosphere for the players are all wonderful and good, but the thing we at SB Nation Indiana like most about interim-coach Frank Vogel isn't his drive to create a team identity or his desire to fully maximize the talent on the roster.
No, we like Frank Vogel because the man plays clips from the Rocky movies to inspire and incite his team. Any coach who does that, and gets a 7-1 record as a result, is kick-ass cool in our book.
Rumor is he used this clip to let his team know how the rest of the league should view them.
Here's to more 7-1 runs under coach Frank Vogel, a man who has instilled confidence and interest back into a Pacers franchise that, for all intents and purposes, had become irrelevant in the minds of many Indiana sports fans under Vogel's mentor and friend, Jim O'Brien.
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