Nine days in paradise is a bit different if you’re a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The purple and gold wrap up their stay in Hawaii Wednesday, but it was far from a week of sunshine and piña coladas.
Head coach Byron Scott’s training camp is notorious for testing players’ conditioning, and the 2015 iteration lived up to its reputation.
“They're always tough,” said Brandon Bass, who played for Scott in New Orleans from 2005-07. “They're always challenging. Always going to be a lot of running. It's going to challenge you mentally and physically. I think it's a usual Byron Scott training camp.”
Despite it being par for Scott’s course, even a 10-year veteran like Bass would have been relieved by one fewer windsprint here or there.
“I hoped it was going to be something different," he said, laughing. "I ain't mad. I know he's trying to bring the best out of us.”
Meanwhile, the younger Lakers have also embraced Scott’s focus on the team’s longterm conditioning over its immediate fatigue. For D’Angelo Russell, his first NBA camp is a stark contrast to his lone one at Ohio State, where academic priorities, such as class and tutoring, prevented training sessions from going long.
Now, there are no history lectures or group projects to divert from the conditioning.
“You start to have second thoughts on ‘Why, why, why?’” Russell said. "We're looking forward to trying to make the playoffs. If we do that, we'll be prepared for it.”
Scott himself echoed Russell’s opinion after the team shot just 28.9 percent (26-of-90) in its preseason opener — a 90-71 loss to Utah — on Sunday.
“I don't necessarily care about tired legs in preseason,” Scott said. “I think everything that we've done thus far will pay off at the end of the day. All the running ... I think in December and January, it will pay off.”
Despite Ryan Kelly being the only Laker to shoot better than 50 percent in that game (and he only took three shots), Scott wouldn’t consider fatigue the reason for the team’s poor performance from the field.
“I don't know if it has anything to do with tired legs," Scott said. "I think we just missed open shots. You could always say it's tired legs. That, to me, is an excuse.”
Nonetheless, the Lakers’ legs did look fresher in their 117-114 overtime loss to the Jazz on Tuesday. LA shot 43.4 percent (36-of-83) this time around — a 14.5 percent leap from two days before.
At the beginning of camp, Scott praised his team for getting into shape over the offseason, pointing out that no player had thrown up on the first day — a rarity at his camp which at times can feel more like the “boot” variety than the “training” one.
Russell says that veterans have told them “this is the toughest (training camp),” and Bass wouldn’t argue with that. He also trusts that the soreness and fatigue will be worth it down the line.
“I’m getting (in shape) faster than I would in other training camps," Bass said. "I think we're definitely going to be in better shape than a lot of teams come the regular season. Guys' legs are probably a little tired, but we're going to fight through it.”