Grading Frank Vogel's Early Tenure in Phoenix

Frank Vogel has had a fairly strong start to his tenure as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns - the Suns stand at 10-6 just one month into the new season. 

Phoenix is also only 1.5 games out of the No. 1 seed after an adversity-filled start- which has seen extended absences from Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

Much of the recent success can be attributed to Vogel's leadership, adaptability, and marksmanship as a defensive tactician.

Here's how Vogel grades out thus far in various categories:

Defense: A

The Suns are statistically a middle-of-the-pack unit in most categories on defense. 

A middle of the pack defense is an absolute win for Phoenix, a team that had a multitude of questions on defense coming into the season. 

Vogel's schematics have largely been successful- Phoenix is a defense that's predicated on playing disruptive ball (tipped passes, blocked shots at rim, etc.) 

Individual defenders such as Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, and even Kevin Durant are playing their best defense in years or careers.

Offense: B-

The Suns have quickly become one of the best offenses in the NBA. Vogel has clearly put an ample amount of trust into his players. Kevin Young has continued to do a great job working on offensive sets with Vogel. 

The main thing that drags Vogel's grade down here is the handful of meltdowns the suns have experienced in fourth quarters this season - such as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers.

Coaching Staff: A

Vogel's staff appeared to be impressive on paper from the jump- and his hiring decisions haven't disappointed.

Kevin Young is the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA, and understandably so. He continues to be a steady voice in the locker room and appears to be a when, not if in terms of getting a head coaching opportunity. 

David Fizdale brings head coaching experience and more prowess as a defensive-minded coach to compliment Vogel. 

Miles Simon, Quinton Crawford, and John Lucas III all have familiarity with Vogel and are all former players that have built impressive resumes as coaches. 

The coaching staff Vogel has built has been just as vital to the Suns' recent success as Vogel himself.

Rotations: B

This is simply just a placeholder grade. Vogel has made some spectacular rotational decisions - particularly during the six-game win streak. 

Despite the strong rotational consistency he's built up lately, there's also been some questionable choices sprinkled into games one month in. 

Just to be clear- Vogel's willingness to switch things up should be lauded, and it's far too early in the season to make an undoubtedly firm assessment on this front, so a "B" grade with room to grow feels appropriate. 

Adjustments: B

This is another category that's tough to assess in a 16-game sample, but the early impressions are more positive than not. 

Vogel's halftime and in-game adjustments have helped win Phoenix several games, which outweigh the games where the wrong adjustments were made (think Lakers loss on Oct. 26).

Once again, it's a nice change to see a coach that is generally adaptable/malleable when it comes to in-game maneuvering, even down to the science of calling timeouts at the proper time.

Leadership: A

Vogel has clearly won the respect of the locker room. A coach that was used as the scapegoat for the Lakers' 2021-22 failures behind LeBron James/Anthony Davis/Russell Westbrook has his star players playing hard every single rep. 

Sure, Durant and Booker are wired to give it their all on every possession, but this is a far cry from a Mike D'Antoni-Lakers or Steve Nash-Nets scenario. 

It is abundantly clear that he's held the locker room together through some tough patches early in the season, and the camaraderie/continuity the team has built early on looks legitimate as they trek towards the playoffs.

Overall: B+

It's way too early to give a definitive assessment of his tenure, but so far, so good. 

Vogel has proven to be a different kind of coach than Monty Williams, and that seems to be just what the Suns needed. 

Will he be the coach to help guide Phoenix to their first NBA title? 

Check back in June.