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The man, the legend, the NBA logo Jerry West with Elgin Baylor during Thursday's practice. (Clippers Photo)
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Preseason Practice & The Legendary Logo
posted by Dena | October 4 @ 6:58 pm
Jeffrey Smith from Venice, CA writes...
Hello! I was wondering what kind of training the players have during two-a-days. Do they play two hours in the morning and then play another two hours at night around 8:00 pm? Or do they run in the mornings and play at night? I'm really a big fan and just very curious as how they get into game shape! Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Jeffrey,
This is a very good question. Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, preseason practices practically have to be scheduled down to the minute. After confirming the details with our Director of Player Personnel Neil Olshey, here's the breakdown of how preseason practices are scheduled.
A team can practice for no longer than three and a half total aggregate hours per day. Of the two sessions, only one can be a full-contact practice with three-on-three or five-on-five scrimmages. The other session will generally include going over plays and working on fundamentals.
A team is also allowed 30 minutes prior to each session for stretching and warm-ups. When you add it all up, there are four total hours of practice per day. The practices so far this week have been from 9:00 - 11:00 in the mornings and 5:00 - 7:00 in the evenings.
To give the players a bit of a break, teams usually won't hold two-a-day practices more than two days in a row. If they choose to do so on days with only one practice, the players are free to work out on their own time. Whether that's cardio, weights or going to the gym to shoot the ball around is up to them.
A team can only hold two-a-day practices up until seven days after practice begins. To break down the Clippers' schedule for the week so far, there were two-a-day practices on Tuesday and yesterday. Today the team held only the morning practice, but players have been spotted working out this afternoon. There will be two practices tomorrow, an open scrimmage on Saturday, and the final two-a-day practice is this Sunday.
Today, the players were treated to a special guest during practice. The man, the legend, the NBA logo... Jerry West watched the team practice while sitting on the sidelines with VP of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor.
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Because You Asked...
Guillermo R. from Compton, CA writes...
Dena,
I personally think that the FedEx Forum is one of the best atmospheres in the NBA. Not that the Grizzlies are any good or the crowd is anything special, just that the location is unique as it is in the middle of Beale St. so before or after the game, it's a fun time. It's also hard to not list the AAA Arena in Miami for obvious reasons, as one of my favorite places. My question is, what are your top five NBA arenas?
Guillermo,
Ummmm... I've been to STAPLES Center (obviously), The Palace of Auburn Hills (obviously), The United Center in Chicago, Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, The "Q" in Cleveland and... I think that's it. Unless you count the old Sports Arena and The Great Western Forum, that's only five NBA arenas. Take away the two I've worked at, that's only three. That's kind of pathetic, actually.
Of those three, my favorite would have to be Conseco. Downtown Indianapolis is a really fun little area and they've got plenty of basketball themed bars and restaurants to choose from. The tables at the stadium's bar are made of basketball nets with glass table tops which are a nice touch. The arena itself was built like a real old school field house, too. The pipes are exposed in the ceiling which gives a cool visual, and they have a practice facility located right on the street with a giant window for fans to look in and watch the Pacers play when walking by.
Unfortunately, true to field house form, the upper level stands give a whole new meaning to the term "nose bleed section." No joke. I was there with a bunch of Detroit coworkers for Reggie Miller's second-to-last home game: Game 4 of the 2005 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against Detroit. Our seats were in the very last row of the place. If you stood up and looked down, you felt like you were going to fall straight down and go SPLAT! on the court. Other than that, the place is great and the city really is a true basketball town.
Note to self: visit more NBA arenas this season...
Brent Burton from Anaheim, CA writes... Hey Dena,
Can you tell us if / when and where the Clippers will be having an open scrimmage during training camp?
Brent,
The open scrimmage will be held this Saturday at Santa Barbara Community College, the site of all of the team's preseason practices. This is a ticketed event, but it is sold out.
Jason from Ontario, CA writes...
Hi Dena,
Paul Davis played well in the summer league and had a nice consistent 15-18 foot jumper going on. How has he looked so far in training camp, and do you think he will have more of an impact role this season? Thanks!
Jason,
With the exception of how his size 18 feet look wearing flip-flops (it's a frightening sight, really), Paul is definitely looking like the same player we saw shoot those 15-18 foot jumpers during Summer League games. He's in great shape, he's working hard and we should hopefully see a lot more of him this season.
Random but funny... in July I wrote that he was still looking inconsistent like he did during the season. He scored 18 points one game, two the next... then the very night I posted that blog on Clippers.com, he went on to score 15 points and grab 12 rebounds. He consistently scored in double-digits in the rest of the games in Vegas. The Spartan must revel in proving this Wolverine wrong...
Victor from Bell Gardens, CA writes...
Hello Dena, I gotta know! Who's better? Dan Dickau or Jared Jordan?
Victor,
Dan's five years of NBA experience definitely gives him the edge. If Sam and Brevin are out, I'd rather have Dan as our starting PG than Jared.
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Day Three: Cooking, Kicking & Boots
With only one practice today, the players seemed in slightly better spirits. This means more of them were willing to divulge more of those interesting oddball tidbits about themselves. So at long last, here is my list of the Top Five Random Things I Learned at Day Three of Training Camp:
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1. "The Voice of The Clippers" Ralph Lawler's license plate reads OMEOHMY. Speaking of license plates...
2. Paul Davis, who ever so gently kicked my car with his size 18 feet yesterday after he saw its University of Michigan license plate frame, spent four days in Beijing, China last month to participate in Steve Nash and Yao Ming's NBA All-Star Charity Game.
3. Al Thornton cooks! His favorite dish to make is something he calls the "Monkey Booty Special," which consists of the following: fried bologna, scrambled eggs, sliced tomatoes, mayonnaise and BBQ chips. He washes it all down with Kool-Aid. He says "Monkey Booty" is a nickname for Bologna. He offered to make it for me, but... I'm deathly afraid of mayonnaise.
4. How does Elton Brand balance while wearing the walking boot? He wears a Timberland work boot on his right foot. It's the only shoe that's heavy enough that won't force him to overcompensate for the added weight of the boot on his healing left Achilles.
5. Chris Kaman played soccer until his junior year in high school. He quit playing then because his feet grew to the size 17 they are now, and he couldn't find any soccer cleats to fit.
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