​Frank Vogel’s best defenses have always started with a rim-protecting big man. The one lined up for him in Golden State is out indefinitely.Kristaps Porziņģis is out for Warriors training camp at BYU-Hawaii with what they’re calling a “health issue,” Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavyannounced Sept. 28 at Warriors Media Day. The team has also not given a timeline for his return.“He was in last week, doing well and everything,” Dunleavy said. “I don’t have a timeline on it; hopefully he will be back soon.”Kristaps Porzingis is out indefinitely to open training camp with a health issue, per Warriors. Another immediate blow to their depth.— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) September 28, 2026A day later in Hawaii, coach Steve Kerr called Porziņģis “day to day” and described his situation as a private health matter, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.It’s an early test for Vogel. The Warriors announced the hiring of the 53-year-old as Kerr’s associate head coach on Sept. 17. He spent the last two seasons on Jason Kidd‘s staff in Dallas and replaced Terry Stotts on Kerr’s bench.Longtime NBA coach Frank Vogel has agreed to become the associate head coach for the Golden State Warriors under head coach Steve Kerr, sources tell ESPN.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 12, 2026Kerr hasn’t been subtle about what Vogel’s role will be in Golden State.“I’m going to turn the defense over to him,” Kerr said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.Vogel said Kerr’s pitch was simple. “That I would run the defense, and there’s nobody in the league that would want to do it more than me,” Vogel told reporters after his hire. He’s built elite defenses before, but every one of them had a big like 7-foot-2 Porziņģis anchoring the paint.Vogel’s Track Record Shows What Happens When the Anchor Goes MissingVogel took over the Indiana Pacers midway through the 2010-2011 season and built them into a defensive powerhouse. Indiana ranked first in defensive rating in 2012-13 and 2013-14, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in both years.He won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, when they ranked third in defensive rating. The next season, they finished first.Across stops in Indiana, Orlando, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, Vogel is 480-422 as a head coach.The stretches that didn’t see much success are telling. His two Orlando Magic teams went 29-53 and 25-57, ranking 22nd and 18th in defensive rating. His lone Phoenix Suns team finished slightly above league average at 13th before getting swept in the first round by Minnesota, and Vogel was fired after one season.Every Vogel Defense Has Been Built Around a Rim-Protecting CenterVogel’s best defenses share a formula: a shot-blocker anchoring the paint, a physical big next to them and disruptive guards and wings on the perimeter.In Indiana, that was Roy Hibbert, who averaged 2.2 blocks in 2013-14, next to David West, Paul George and George Hill. In Los A