Frank Vogel Says He Likely Won’t Bench Roy Hibbert Next Time


At the most important moment of Game 1, Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel made the baffling decision to replace Roy Hibbert with Tyler Hansbrough (fearing a wide-open shot for Chris Bosh.) Naturally, this backfired spectacularly, and hindsight now being 20/20, Vogel admits that the big fella should’ve been on the floor to contest a driving LeBron James. Next time — assuming there is a next time — the Pacers coach promises to rethink his strategy. Per the Indy Star: “So you think Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel had a difficult time getting over taking Roy Hibbert out in the third quarter of Game 2 against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals? What he did in Game 1 — with Hibbert again — against the Miami Heat should have caused him to toss and turn in his hotel bed, pace the floor in his room and look at himself in the mirror most of the night. Vogel put Hibbert on the bench in the final seconds of overtime. But wait, it gets better. The coach did it twice. And both times the Heat, well LeBron James, scored. […] ‘Maybe I need to do that more, I didn’t,’ Hibbert said when asked if he urged Vogel to stay in the game. ‘In hindsight, I wish I did because LeBron’s layup was one I think I could have gotten because he served it up and it wasn’t like he protected the ball. He served it up to the rim and I may have been able to get a piece of it.’ […] The Pacers have to find a way to get over this loss to get ready for Game 2, and it starts with Vogel first. ‘We’ll have to evaluate and see what we’ll do the next time,’ he said. ‘I would say we’ll probably have (Hibbert) in next time.'”