Lawrence Frank checked in from Paris via conference call this afternoon. After telling us the first practice went well, despite most players only having an hour of sleep, he outlined a few goals for the trip:

1. Try to establish a rotation, whether it's evolving or determined early on.
2. Figure out which combinations of players are effective.
3. Figure out offensive, defensive and pressing lineups.

"We've got a lot of guys competing for time," Frank said. "We had a good practice today, but at the same time, you get a little bit tired of looking at the same team all the time. Guys are anxious to see how we do against outside competition. There are a lot of things we’ve got to find out."

Outside of "fixtures" in Vince Carter and Devin Harris, Frank wouldn't reveal the remaining starters for tomorrow's preseason opener against Miami, though he admitted he had an idea and was just waiting to tell the team first. My idea would be Bobby Simmons at small forward, Josh Boone at center and ... not Yi Jianlian at power forward, due to his recent ankle injury. That leaves us with Ryan Anderson (maaaybe, due to being named "best in camp," but a rook), Eduardo Najera (nay), Stromile Swift (nay) and [drumroll please] Sean Williams.

The praise heaped upon Williams has been bountiful, and though Frank singled him out for playing the 5 "better than anyone" a week ago, he's earned first crack at the 4. However, Frank warned us not to get any ideas from what we see tomorrow.

"I wouldn’t read too much into it," he said. "That’s just the lineup for the first game, and the second game it could be different."

Frank is open to a rotation of varying length, pointing out that while 8-9 is the norm, he's used seven, and wouldn't be opposed to 10 if he thought that made sense. The double-digit rotation would mean a press unit was in effect, so that's one to watch for.

After several practices, Frank's starting to see Yi apply what he's learned while sitting on the sidelines with a sprained ankle during the first week of camp.

“I think he’s shown signs," Frank said. "You can’t simulate missing practice especially with what we’re doing requires five guys to be on the same page. He has a very high basketball IQ, but the rhythm and the timing - not just him but all the guys - is going to take a long time.

“But he comes as advertised, and we look forward to going through the whole process because we think he can be a very special player.”

Injuries: Keyon Dooling looked good in his first day of full-contact, Frank said. His game status is in question though, they'll evaluate him tomorrow ... Jarvis Hayes again tried to practice, and again had to sit out after his hamstring tightened up. He's out for tomorrow's game, hoping the breather gives it a chance to heal.

Sights Seen? The team's hoping to get out to the Louvre tonight, where Frank -- always the joker -- "might get some culture for once in (his) life." ... There's a team photo scheduled at the Eiffel Tower tomorrow.

--Posted by Ben Couch on Oct. 8, 2008 at 5:45 p.m.