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Los Angeles Lakers: Frank Vogel’s defensive genius versus Houston

By Davide Tovani

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers signals against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 29, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers signals against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 29, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

1. Cut the head and the body will follow

We know very well that James Harden is the fulcrum of the Rockets’ offense. Without him this small lineup would not exist. The whole team would not exist.

We also know that slowing him down is really hard. Harden is an unstoppable force to which there is no answer. It is almost impossible to prevent him from scoring. If he decides to get a basket, he will get it, whether it is from three, at the rim, from the free-throw line or assisting a teammate.

The first task in Vogel’s defensive strategy, then, was trying to slow him down. Defending Harden is a taxing job, so Vogel turned it into a real relay, trying to constantly keep on him a fresh defender. Every player available was put on him, starting with LeBron James in the first minutes of Game 2 through Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, Alex Caruso, Rajon Rondo, J.R. Smith.

And this was not his only answer to the mercurial point guard. Houston’s offense revolves around James’s ability to put pressure on the defense threatening the defense and consequentially involving his teammates. So the Lakers systematically trapped him with double teams as soon as he showed the intention to attack.

This would prevent him from scoring and the offense from starting. The strategy not only reached its objective to disrupt the Rockets’ scheme, it also caused them to turn a lot of balls over. It is not a coincidence that the three-time scoring champions finished with only 12 attempted shots and the team had 17 turnovers.

In Game 3, Harden and Westbrook had almost 30 point-triple-double games, but do not be fooled by those numbers, they are much less impactful than it seems. Their scoring is just the result of Vogel tinkering with his plans and trying something different.

Harden had 21 points in the first half because Frank decided to not double team him until halftime, maybe to spare his players the huge expenditure of energy that doing it the whole game entails. The Beard scored just 12 points in the second half when LA began double-teaming him again. As for Westbrook, we will see later why its performance is not to be overrated.

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