ORLANDO – At times early in this NBA season, Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel felt like a jockey trying to win the Kentucky Derby while riding a stocky, thick-legged Clydesdale horse instead of saddling up a sleep thoroughbred like the competition.
Vogel has been around the NBA since 2001 as either a video coordinator, a scout, an assistant coach or a head coach, and he’s seen dozens of changes in style of play over that time. None of them, however, have been as drastic – and evolutionary, for that matter – as the sweeping trend of small ball and the heavy reliance on 3-point shooting.