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The rumors are true. Introducing Kaman's newest 'do: the fauxhawk. Noah Graham (NBAE/Getty Images)
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Oh Me, Oh My...
posted by Dena | October 2 @ 11:22 am
Greetings from Training Camp, Clipper Nation! The morning practice is just about done and I'll be chatting with the players and coaches soon about day one.
In the mean time, here's a little bit of "insider info" for you straight from Santa Barbara:
- Cuttino Mobley suffered a strained left calf and is listed as out for the week of camp. He will be able to do some pool training and cardio, but that's about it.
- The rumors are true: Chris Kaman's sporting a "fauxhawk" during camp. Unfortunately, Chris is also suffering a sore lower back and is listed as day-to-day.
- Brevin Knight is lookin' pretty good out there. His 5'10'' frame is also tiny in comparison to some of the other guys.
- Sam Cassell is the biggest trash talker ever. Period.
- A bit of advice: try not to drop a plate full of food in front of the entire team at breakfast. If you do, they will point and laugh at you.
But first...
Kent Estep from Los Angeles writes...
Please let us know what your impression of Al Thornton is. As one of the few four-year guys from the draft, I'm hoping he's polished enough to provide an instant lift to the team. And also any Caveman updates. I'm hoping he can pick it up and make up for Elton's absence.
P.S. Uh, your visual comedy list can't be complete without Kingpin, possibly the best ever.
P.P.S. Please no more Michigan comments. I'm bleeding green here, at least until we get a win...
Kent,
Al is looking really good in practice so far. He's unimaginably athletic and can read his teammates/opponents well. He needs to hone his skills a bit, but he should be able to contribute right away.
No updates on Caveman yet, with the exception of the fauxhawk.
P.S. I'll take Kingpin into consideration, but I'm standing behind Blazing Saddles as the best visual comedy. Sorry.
P.P.S. Have you been talking to fellow Spartan Paul Davis? He asked me the same thing... Fine. No more comments until at least after the game vs. Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Deal?
Will write more soon with answers to some of your questions and my top five list of things I learned at Training Camp today!
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E-mails, E-mails, E-mails, E-mails...
Alwaid Johnson from Georgia writes...
Hi Dena,
Great job, I appreciate your blog session. Can't wait for tip-off.
I've been shopping this idea with coaches and others but no response. Maybe you will like it.
It's simple. Each year coach has been trying to get the team to play tough defense. My idea is to, during home games, have about nine or ten people in the stands and each assigned to video tape a player, always zeroing in on that player with about an 11-ft radius, throughout the entire game.
The players, when studying the tape, can clearly see all the little things that he should have or should not have done. This is much better than game tapes, because it's zoomed in on the individual players, something like when Shaq was trying to improve his free throw shooting and his trainer taped him while shooting them.
Do you think it'll work? Thanks!
Alwaid,
After consulting with my trusty video crew gurus Mo, Seth and Raman, we're all in agreement that this idea makes sense in theory. Realistically, however, it would not be the most efficient way to watch basketball.
There's no denying you'd get a detailed shot of each player. Unfortunately, it would wind up being incredibly redundant. The coach would have to watch the same game tape nine or ten different times. That's a lot of game tape. The coaches know the game and their players well enough to be able to pick out the mistakes during games.
The point is, a team defensive concept requires five players - each of who plays a different role while on defense. Each person's actions will directly affect how the other players respond to the opposing team. That's what the game tapes focus on.
FYI - the video crew does set up multiple cameras to evaluate an individual player during practice. That's the best time to analyze and correct somebody's technique, should it need to be done.
As far as Shaq goes, free throw shooting is an individual feat, so zeroing in on his technique to improve upon it makes perfect sense. If one of our players had a similar (brick!) technique problem shooting free throws, rest assured it'd be handled in a similar way.
Joseph Redondo from Lakewood, CA writes...
Yo Dena!
I read your most recent blog and Taylor form LBC had a point a about the Caveman. Is there any way for you to tell Chris that he should continue to grow his hair back?
Also, I think that the Clippers will be doing much better this season than most people had predicted. I think the Clippers season will be around 35-40 wins. What do you think?
Go Clippers!
Joseph,
The word has been passed along to the Caveman. Can't say the big guy was too receptive to the idea of going back to the long hair. That's a far cry from last season when he was "too lazy" to get it cut. Maybe he's picking up on the whole living in LA and being quasi-fashionable thing? Or maybe, as he said, it's not going to happen because his mom "likes it better short."
I agree that this team will exceed the expectations of many a nay-sayer. My prediction: 38-44 wins, the vast majority coming on their home court.
 Livingston |
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What's going on with Livingston and EB and their rehab?
Carlos,
Good question. Here's the update straight from day one at camp:
Shaun is taking shots (many of them one-handed), jogging and strength training while the team is running through drills. His spirits are high, he's feeling pretty good and according to head trainer Jasen Powell, he's progressing with his overall upper and lower body strength.
EB, on the other hand, has been riding the stationary bike for so long he might as well be providing the power for the entire gymnasium. (Sort of like Lance Armstrong in this hilarious ESPN commercial.) Jasen told me he's also doing some aquatic and flexibility training as well. I didn't get a chance to talk to EB much today, but will do my best to find out how he's doing tomorrow.
Sean Tavitian from Bellflower, CA writes...
Do you think Al Thornton will have a shot at Rookie of The Year?
Sean,
Absolutely. Especially now that Greg Oden is out for the season. Al stands one of the best chances at being able to contribute right away, put up huge numbers and help his team win. In some ways, that gives him a slight edge over probable favorite Kevin Durant. Once Seattle dished Ray Allen out to Boston, they somewhat limited Durant's ability to learn from a veteran and progress as a player throughout the entire season. I'm not sure Seattle's going to put up huge numbers in the W column based on their current roster.
Thornton might very well wind up being the Dwyane Wade of the 2003 Rookie of the Year candidates - a slight sleeper pick in the draft that wound up improving his team more than anyone thought possible. I realize D-Wade didn't win that year, nor did Carmelo Anthony... but both players had a legitimate shot.
Random side note: Al needs a haircut in a bad way. He's wearing a head band during practice and his hair is getting so long it's starting to resemble a mushroom.
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Day One: What We Learned
It's 10:44 pm and I'm FINALLY back from the evening session, dinner and a long overdue phone call with a very important person. It's been a long day of attempting (and failing) to connect to the internet, walking on the beach and watching the boys in red, white and blue get ready for this season.
Some headlines for you:
- Clippers Sign Yaroslav Korolev
- Clippers Add Douthit, Ffriend to Training Camp Roster (That's not a typo. His last name has two F's. The first F' is silent.)
That said, I did a little poking around and found out some fairly interesting tidbits of information. Without further ado, here are is my list of the Top Five Things I Learned at Day One of Training Camp:
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1. The newest member of the Clippers' broadcast team, Play-By-Play Announcer Brian Sieman has a nine year old black lab named Mosley. He and his wife took Mosley to the beach today and brought back about six pounds of sand in her fur alone.
2. The player with the biggest feet on the team is center Paul Davis, whose size 18 shoes dwarf guard Brevin Knight's size 12, the smallest on the team. Not to mention that's more than three times the size of my little size 6.5 feet (that's a 4.5 in men's).
3. Shaun Livingston gets his hair braided every three weeks. He tried to show me the newest design, but had to sit down while I stood on a bench so I could get a real good look. They look super (at least from where I was standing).
4. The heavily inked forward/center Josh Powell *officially* only has four tattoos. He counts them like this: two arms, chest and back. He doesn't add up all of the tattoos that make up those giant four, since they all make one very symbolic piece of art.
5. According to Equipment Manager Pete Serrano, the Gatorade flavor of choice amongst the majority of the players on the team is Grape. (Not a shameless sponsor plug; just found it interesting.)
See you tomorrow!
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