 The Sixers run the arena floor. David Dow/NBAE/Getty Images |
The floor and the scorer's table each had fresh NBA Europe Live Tour Presented by EA Sports logos on them, as final preperations were being made for the first NBA-sanctioned game in Barcelona since the Grizzlies played FC Barcelona here three years ago.
The three-point line was NBA distance, but the lane was the international trapezoid. Moving over to the arena was a bit of a change of pace, done so that tomorrow night won't be so.
"It was so we could familiarize ourself with the court itself and the lane," Mo Cheeks said, "because a lot of us haven't had the opportunity to play on a European court like it is now."
Like every practice before it, it began with defensive drills. They worked on their secondary break and beating the press. Then they scrimmaged. The referees were not there (a couple of coaches officiated), so it was pretty much a no-blood-no-foul atmosphere.
Tomorrow, they play. You know the players are ready.
"We're tired of practicing," Kyle Korver said. "We always want to play. We're excited to get out there, just run and see what happens."
"I'm tired of beating up on my teammates," Willie Green agreed, "so I'm anxious to just get out there, start playing and getting ready for the season."
Responses like that are expected from the players. Game action is certainly far more fun than practice. But how about the coach? Would he rather get a couple of more two-a-days in before playing in front of a crowd? Nope. He's ready too.
"Guys have been going against each other for a couple of days and they're looking forward to playing someone else," Cheeks said, "so it can be kind of fun."
But tomorrow won't exactly be a typical gameday. The priorities are still preparing for the NBA season first, and preparing for FC Barcelona second. They might go a little harder than they would at a standard shootaround in the morning.
"It's going to be a practice in the morning," Korver said. "It won't be a shootaround. It will probably be a little heavier than a normal game day. But we gotta learn their personnel too, because we don't know anything about them."
 Navarro is ready for AI. John Schuhmann/NBAE |
Asked if his starters will play big minutes, Mo Cheeks was a bit ambiguous.
"We don't have any starters," he said. "Everybody's fighting for position here."
Chris Webber knows the important games start in November.
"It's just a preseason game," Webber said. "We have to get ready for the NBA season. That's most important. Secondly, is play well for the fans."
The arena is expected to be full. NBA basketball does not come around these parts often, especially in the person of Allen Iverson. So, it should be an electric atmosphere, which should be a good experience for some of younger Sixer players.
"Tomorrow is going to prepare us for big games," said Green. "This is a big game in Barcelona. Their team is gonna be ready. We're gonna be ready. I heard it's going to be sold out, so it's going to give us a chance to experience that big-game atmosphere."
In the other locker room, Barcelona is a bit banged up and because of the World Championships, their preseason was shorter than usual. They're a game into the regular season and they haven't been together for three weeks yet.
"Right now, we're not in the best shape," Rodrigo de la Fuente admitted before their practice Wednesday night.
"It's going to be a test for us, because we're not playing as well as we would like," Juan Carlos Navarro agreed (through a translator).
Still, with Navarro (drafted by Washington in 2002), Mario Kasun (played with Orlando for two years), Roko Leni-Ukic and Fran Vazquez (drafted by Toronto and Orlando respectively in 2005), Barcelona has NBA level talent and should certainly not be taken lightly.
"We know the Barcelona team is a good team," Webber said, "so we have to be prepared."
And preseason game or not ...
"We're trying to win," Cheeks said.
After practice, Louis Williams was pulled over for an interview with NBA TV. He was answering questions about going at it with Allen Iverson during practice and challenging his "big brother" when, from behind, Iverson and Webber snuck up and poured water over his head.
Williams didn't even have to look back to know that Iverson was involved. Williams promised revenge on the two veteran pranksters, but they warned him against that.
And we thought that kind of treatment was reserved for rookies.