The Pacers surprised some by pushing the Raptors to seven games in their first round playoff series. Unfortunately, they fell short, leaving questions to be asked heading into the offseason. Among them is whether or not Frank Vogel will be back on the bench next season.
Vogel was named the interim head coach after Jim O’Brien was fired during the 2010-2011 season. Since then, he’s guided the Pacers to 250-181 record during the regular season and 31-30 in the playoffs, including appearances in the postseason in five of the past six seasons.
Like many teams in the NBA, Indiana wanted to play at a more uptempo pace this season. Changes were made to the roster, including trading Roy Hibbert to the Lakers and experimenting with Paul George at power forward. After mixed results to start the season, Vogel changed course, often using Ian Mahinmi and Myles Turner together in the front court which moved George back to his more familiar small forward position.
The Pacers ultimately made the playoffs, but scoring points was an issue. As Larry Bird has stated on a few occasions, he wants Indiana to score more, which may lead to him bringing in a new head coach.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bird told the Indianapolis Star. “What I don’t want to do is leave Frank hanging. There’s other jobs out there he could get.”
Perhaps the Pacers come to the conclusion they have reached their ceiling under Vogel, and that’s certainly within their right. His place among coaches in the NBA can be debated and would likely elicit varied responses. However, as is generally the case when replacing coaches, who could Indiana get that’s decidedly better and is currently looking to get back into coaching? That’s what Bird and the Pacers organization is tasked with trying to determine.
H/T NBC Sports
