Frank Vogel Excited for Suns Defensive Potential
Everybody is clamoring on what the Phoenix Suns can do on the offensive end of the court - and rightfully so.
The Suns' recent acquisitions of Bradley Beal, Eric Gordon, Yuta Watanabe, Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks and Chimezie Metu give Phoenix plenty of options behind prominent names such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Deandre Ayton.
The Suns now have a few different scoring options behind the dynamic duo of Booker/Durant, something they desperately needed last postseason.
Phoenix also needed to step up defensively, something previous coach Monty Williams wasn't able to do before being canned 48 hours after the Suns bowed out of the postseason in earlier than anticipated fashion.
Shortly after arrived Frank Vogel, a NBA championship-winning coach with the Los Angeles Lakers with a strong defensive background.
In a recent interview with The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin, Vogel said he's been pleased with the defensive prowess the organization has assembled.
“You can never have enough defensive talent. I like the guys who we’ve added. This is going to be a team that the stars are going to have to step up and really bring it on the defensive end as well," Vogel said.
"They’ve got to carry their own weight. When you put together a group that we have with Bradley, Devin (Booker) and Kevin (Durant) and the big fella (Deandre Ayton) behind us, all those guys are going to be heavy minutes guys. They’re going to all have to draw a primary matchup and they all expressed in doing so. They’re all excited about that challenge and it’s going to be great.”
If the Suns can unlock the defensive potential of Ayton, Phoenix could be in serious business.
At his opening press conference, Vogel acknowledged that very point.
"I think he can be one of the best centers in the league," said Vogel.
"I think he's shown that at times throughout his career, and I know he showed that when we played him in the playoffs a couple years back and he shot about 80% from the field and deterred every drive, every cut, every effort to attack the basket.
"He can be a big time deterrent. There's still areas that he can grow offensively. But I'm intent on really connecting with him and restoring him to an all star level player."
Vogel was later asked about trying to maximize Ayton's potential as a shot-blocker.
"I think it starts with the big fella. I've always had elite rim protectors, and you can get the job done without that, but boy when you got a guy like that in front of the basket deterring everything that comes to the rim. You just get stronger in everything," he said.
The Suns have all the firepower they could ask for - but ultimately their defensive efforts could dictate how far they travel in the postseason.
