It's off to Providence and the first preseason roadie of the month tonight against Boston. A really energetic workout on Thursday with some 4 on 4 and some 5 on 5 in this one. Andy got his orange shirted group together and before they broke the huddle, instead off "1-2-3 work hard" which is what the team does, Andy, said "1-2-3...let's do eeet"...the rest of the guys chimed in too, giving it the Portuguese accent...
I was watching practice with new European scout, Kornel David, who played with Michael Jordan for two years in Chicago. We were both shaking our heads at some of the things LeBron was doing, as he does on a daily basis - like a filthy and one drive in the lane, then, following the free throw he swiped the in bounds pass and hammered it home on the fly. Kornel said LBJ is just like Mike in that he wants to win every drill, every sprint, every thing and then, the rest of the guys feed of those two guys...
Wednesday, October 8, 2008, 01:47 PM EST
[General]
Back to work for the fellas, following the preseason opener with Toronto last night. It was a good learning experience for the rookies where we saw evidence of the athleticism that both J.J. and Darnell can bring to the table. This is a time of learning for the two forwards...defensive concepts, not to mention the myriad of plays and options they have to absorb. Two things, however, are obvious - both players are hard workers and neither are in awe of the spotlight. J.J. admitted to being a little antsy at first, but felt like he had settled down pretty quickly. He says he’s still in the thinking stage as he learns to react, which effects split second timing...
But both are rookies after all and already they had their first prank played on them. When the team came out on the floor for warm-ups at The Q, the vets were behind them, but purposely stayed in the hallway as J.J. and Darnell ran out on the floor, only to look behind them and see the rest of the team chuckling...Welcome to the NBA!
More from Providence, and the first road trip of the preseason against those world champs from Boston...
Some random thoughts about the Wine and Gold scrimmage...LeBron was honored by the city of Akron for his gold medal and given the key to city. He joked that he knows the city so well, he doesn't need a key, because he knows just about every door anyway. LeBron has worked closely with Mike Brown to monitor his contact in camp, enabling him to pace himself, and that included the scrimmage. It just makes sense with him coming off the Olympics. We did get a sneak peak at the "push it" mindset highlighted when LeBron took a fast break Daniel Gibson bounce toss off the glass as the trailer - King James soared in to smash it. Just the thought of #23 filling lanes with the guards has to be a scary vision for defenses trying to get back...
As Mike said, his team will never be the Phoenix Suns running attack, but the idea is to push the ball up the floor to get some early opportunities and with Mo Williams now on the scene, joining Daniel and Delonte in the backcourt, the potential is there to do that more often. Today, for example, the two teams combined for 16 points on breaks and early offense, which is 20 percent of the total points scored...
Ben Wallace says he feels really good, and showed it, running the floor for a dunk. Mo showed a little bit of everything in his game, including a floater in the lane, and a late 3-pointer to beat the 3rd quarter buzzer. He has a knack for that...and he also threw an alley-oop to Anderson Verejao, which Andy converted...Lorenzen Wright showed a nice low post game, with 3 of his hoops coming on the block...Plus, rookie, JJ Hickson showed his athleticism with a block, and a pair of dunks, including a high handoff above the rim from Vernon Hamilton...
I'm going to add another word to camp besides the aforementioned focus...
ENERGY!
It's been all over the practice court with every drill and every 5 on 5...
Mike Brown mentioned on his radio show about teaching the basics from square one. They become reminders for the vets, and here's how we do it for the newcomers - an example is verbal communication on the floor...Mike stopped practice last night, and praised newcomer Tarence Kinsey for talking to his teammates during a fast break drill...doing it the right way. Mike then led a team applause for the man they call "TK".
What I like is the defense is always rewarded in scrimmages...again, it's what this team is about. Last night, Jawad Williams made a strong move on the left side of the hole, and rose up to hammer it...in the blink of an eye, and I mean a blink, JJ Hickson rose up to block it - a Ben Wallace type of deletion..
It's one of the reasons why JJ will get some playing time as he learns..he has what no one can teach, sheer athleticism...
A good sign going into this year is Boobie Gibson has gotten stronger. Two nights ago he absorbed a fearful collision with Wally Szczerbiak, all 245 pounds...it was actually a foul by Boobie because he was in the restricted area, but Daniel bounced right up, like he didn't feel a thing...
Hope to see you at the Wine and Gold scrimmage this Saturday.
Danny and Mike often refer to the term, corporate knowledge for the Cavs.
It's an entire thread that runs through this organization, a bedrock if you will...and this camp has been all about attention to that detail.
I mean the most intricate details you could imagine on every single drill...heck, every single step and body angle...nothing is left uncovered.
For the returnees, it's reinforcement of that corporate knowledge. For the new guys, it's a seamless way to get swept right along...pretty impressive to watch frankly.
On the floor LeBron and Z embody this, as the unquestioned leaders because of their knowledge of the corporate knowledge if you will. Ben's right there too even though it's his first camp in Cleveland...that championship pedigree helps his quick learning curve.
The slogan at the end of practice last season was always "1-2-3 work hard." Now it's "1-2-3 work hard, 4-5-6 championship." Stay tuned!!
Hope to see you Saturday at the Wine and Gold Scrimmage in Akron.
