Brunt: Pacers coach Vogel might have been better this season than last
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Founder
Last year, Frank Vogel finished third in the NBA’s coach-of-the-year balloting.
This year, he might have been even better.
The Indiana Pacers, despite facing numerous challenges, won the Central Division title. At just 39 years old, Vogel has proven to be one of the league’s up-and-coming coaches. If he gets much better or goes too far in the playoffs, Mr. Simon might have to open up his pocket book again.
Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien in 2011 and led the Pacers to the playoffs as interim coach. Last season, he led Indiana to the No. 3 seed in the East and a strong effort against Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
He followed that by leading the Pacers to a 49-32 finish while their leading scorer from last season was on the shelf for nearly the entire campaign.
Vogel is buried behind several coaches on the popular lists of candidates for coach of the year. Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, New York’s Mike Woodson and Denver’s George Karl are the names being floated around most. So I will take a few minutes here to toot Vogel’s horn.
Vogel took Larry Bird’s rebuilding hopes and made them reality. In three seasons, he has a 111-74 record, a .600 winning percentage. He has accumulated his fair share of technical fouls and apologizes for none of them. He has become somewhat volatile and outspoken, but he has done it in a way that endears him to his players.
Because expectations were high coming into this season, folks who aren’t paying close attention might think this was easy for Vogel because he had a good team. But his Pacers faced numerous obstacles that made this season a challenge.
The Pacers had to adjust after trading last year’s starting point guard, Darren Collison. Yes, George Hill played well late in 2011-12, but he hadn’t necessarily proven he could be the guy for an entire season. As it turned out, the gamble paid off and Hill has been the hometown hero everyone hoped he would be. This was not a given — early this season, while Collison was playing well in Dallas and Hill had some rough stretches, there were whispers that the Pacers might have made the wrong move. Hill averaged 14.3 points and 4.7 assists this season and is one of the key reasons the Pacers have been successful.
Danny Granger, last year’s leading scorer and a team captain, missed almost the entire season with soreness in his left knee. This was a big deal. Granger is one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers of the past decade. He’s a versatile wing who spreads the floor, can drive and plays very good defense. Yes, Paul George emerged and became an All-Star. It’s easy to look back and think that was an easy transition. Take out one All-Star caliber player and replace him with another, right? But George wasn’t an All-Star at the beginning of the season, he grew into one. He worked his way into being one. He was coached into being one. Remember, George is just 22 years old. Most players don’t get there at that young an age. George gets credit for working hard and being coachable. The coaches get credit for coaching him the right way.
A key reason the Pacers survived Granger’s injury was Lance Stephenson’s play. Admit it, Pacers fans. You were ready to give up on him. Well, ‘Born Ready’ lived up to the nickname. He averaged 8.8 points and started 72 games. Getting the most out of Stephenson is perhaps the most impressive thing Vogel has done since he became the coach.
Roy Hibbert didn’t play to his potential early in the season. The natural expectation was that Indiana’s lone All-Star from the 2012 season would help carry some of the scoring load after Granger was ruled out, especially given the big contract he signed in the offseason. Hibbert didn’t do that, but he reverted to his former self later in the season. The fact that Vogel was able to keep Hibbert focused long enough to bring him back to playing at a high level on both ends is significant. I’m not sure Hibbert recovers under O’Brien, who never seemed to be on board with Hibbert to begin with.
So through all of this — injuries, offensive slumps, transition — the Pacers have remained near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Few teams could lose their top scoring option for nearly an entire season and win nearly the same percentage of games. Vogel isn’t the fresh new face anymore and won’t get the attention he garnered last year, but he should. It wasn’t pretty, but he did a masterful job. Indiana is back, in large part because of Vogel.
