(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Frank Vogel has a very difficult job now that he’s head coach of the Phoenix Suns.
The team’s fans – and front office – are expecting great things from the Suns with Vogel leading the way.
If they don’t score a championship soon, they better get very, very close to one.
One of the biggest complaints about this current Suns roster is that it’s weak defensively and is just made of sharp-shooting stars who can’t get stops or rebounds.
Vogel doesn’t believe that and stood up for his team.
“We’re definitely more offensively-talented than defensively-talented on this team, no doubt about that,” Vogel told Justin Termine and Frank Isola on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
But he added that if their “big man” plays like he is supposed to this season then the team will have the ability to shoot from all over the court while still being strong on the defensive end of the court.
Justin: Do you have a good enough defense to compete for a title?
Frank Vogel: “I think we do”
The @Suns new Head Coach talks defense with @TermineRadio & @TheFrankIsola at NBA Summer League pic.twitter.com/AFUIKn1Yj4
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 13, 2023
The “big man” Vogel refers to is likely Deandre Ayton, who had a tough, up-and-down relationship with former coach Monty Williams.
A talented center, Ayton scored 18 points and 10 rebounds on average during the regular season.
He was still strong defensively in the postseason (9.7 rebounds) but his point production dropped down to 13.4 per game.
Additionally, there had long been rumors of Ayton being unhappy with Phoenix and wanting to move on.
If Vogel can change his mindset and get him playing even better, the Suns could really be productive offensively and defensively as well.
Phoenix has made some big, headline-grabbing changes over the last year but not many of them have aimed to help the team’s defensive strategy.
But Vogel is known as a coach who is very deft with defense so if anyone can improve this part of Phoenix’s game, it’s him.
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