Los Angeles Lakers: Frank Vogel discusses the situation through quarantine

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel talks about the situation during the NBA hiatus.

On Saturday, Los Angeles Lakers‘ Head Coach Frank Vogel sat (in his house) with Spectrum SportsNet’s Chris McGee to talk about different topics regarding the Los Angeles Lakers during the coronavirus situation.

Although McGee was broadcasting from an empty studio to interact via webcam with Vogel, it was anyway an encouraging view for the fans, who had the chance to have some kind of contact with their favorite team’s organization.

After the necessary pleasantries to receive updates about the Vogel family, which resides in New Jersey then close to the epicenter of the epidemic, Frank’s dad’s duties and how they spend their time locked at home, the Lakers coach revealed how, anyway, he keeps his job going.

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Besides a short stretch he took “to decompress”, appreciating this time as a surrogate to the All-Star break, which he could not take advantage of, he has been watching a lot of games. He has been examining Lakers’ games with the purpose to see at which point they were both offensively and defensively right before the stop.

He also had the chance to watch whole games to carefully evaluate their possible playoff opponents, instead of watching just edits and reading playbooks, as it usually happens in normal times.

Most importantly, the former Orlando Magic coach has been steadily in touch with the organization and the team.

Rob Pelinka, who is in constant communication with the league, keeps him and the players updated on the situation, which is pretty much fluctuating. Things change continually, without the possibility to determine a resolution, yet.

They call every player every day. They stay in contact to keep the group together and maintain that bond they have developed through the season. They enjoy being around each other. They use Zoom meetings to meet individually and to workout virtually together, competing on drills.

The Head Coach revealed to obviously be concerned about his players staying in shape. They do not want to risk repeating what happened around the league in 2011 during the lockout, because the season could (and hopefully will) resume at some point. The strength and conditioning coach has put together a program for the players to do at home.

"The big concern is (if) our guys are gonna commit to stay in shape. We challenge them to put a big focus on just their physical conditioning, do as much basketball stuff you can do at your house, whether it’s dribbling drills or whatnot.The concern is just that our guys still stay in the best shape they can in light of the challenges that we face and maintain a diet too. We all remember that (during) the lockout a few years back there was a lot of players around the league that got out of shape and put on weight. So we’re talking our guys about making sure we’re maintaining good eating habits while being at home and sticking to the routine of the daily work. There’s a lot of things you can do at your house to make sure you stay in great shape."

Vogel hypothesized that a 2-3 month stop, would take more than 2-3 weeks for the players to get back in game shape. He also wondered about playing games without fans like in the Orlando Summer League and said that, as of now, the Las Vegas solution is just speculation.

They do not know anything for sure. But, overall, he showed the right approach you need to have in these circumstances, stressing the importance of focusing on what you can control and make the best of the situation.

The interview was closed with a lighter tone, with Frank suggesting some of his hit TV shows, the ones he is enjoying with his family in this period of forced home-stay. Famous shows like Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, All American and Tiger King made the top of the list.

As long as it might take for the players to get back in game shape, we hope that the season or even a shortened version of the playoffs resume and in that case, it appears the Los Angeles Lakers are doing everything in their power to remain as close as game-ready as possible and resume their run to the championship.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.