One thing I have noticed so far from the Wizard's Training camp - and I've been following just about EVERY venue and source I can get my hands on - is that it seems like everything is flowing smoothly. No bumps in the road. No distractions. Nary a negative word coming out of Camp.
The closest thing I've heard that could be even in the neighborhood of negative was a comment by Flip Saunders that McGee seemed to lose a little focus when he's tired. The biggest controversy? Who will be the starting Shooting Guard....... That's it?!!?!?! Nothing else?
We've read that EVERYONE came to Camp in great shape..... including by the way, former dough boy, now "7-day Dray" (7-days, for "working hard, seven days a week"). Everyone came to Camp after a Summer working on the things they needed to do to get better. Nick Young studying film of Reggie Miller and Richard Hamilton to discover the best way to mesh with Saunders' system? Andray Blatche worked on his conditioning? JaVale McGee added 15 pounds of muscle? Caron lost weight?
I asked Dave Johnson, after three days of Camp and 5 hard practices, if anyone was dragging? His answer:
"no dragging….that is something I have noticed from the get go…and that is a credit to the Summer work….It really seems to me like an express train that left the station on Tuesday and you need to be on board..everything has been so quick seamless and focused."
This sure doesn't sound like any Wizard's Training Camp I remember from previous years.... So I decided to go looking for something I was familiar with....
Here's what we're hearing out of the Philly camp:
"but there were some bumps in the road because it was first-time drills for them." Said Jordan: "It's the first day, people are out of sync, and no one is going to have their rhythm, no one is going to look great."
Power forward Elton Brand said that not everything went smoothly, especially considering there were so many new drills"One of the things he said was 'repetition brings perfection,' so we're working at it, and he doesn't mind stopping it and throwing around a few F-bombs if it's not working for him."
Holiday is "last in the pecking order" as Jordan said post-practice. That's Jordan's style, to have the rookie earn his way onto the floor.
About the Offense on Day 3 of Training Camp -
"Usually, there is about a strong 10-second segment, but rarely is the entire possession smooth."
After 5 practice sessions: "most of these guys are tired and sore"
Ahhhhhh... there it is.... That's what I remember....