The excitement of Day One of training camp feeds the adrenaline and always creates an electric practice atmosphere. It’s how the team responds on Day Two that can show how the verve in the locker room plays out on the floor.
On the second day of U.S. Cellular Thunder Training Camp, Head Coach Scott Brooks and his squad continued to incorporate the offensive and defensive philosophies that will be critical throughout the season. Training camp is a part of the year that Brooks and his staff take extremely seriously and the continuity on the staff in addition to the roster allows the team to get right to work on the core tenets that have made the team successful in recent years.
With a core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka as leaders, the Thunder has a leg up in getting prepared for the season right off the bat.
“With all of our returning players we can get right into a lot of the things we’ve done in the past,” Brooks said. “We’ve always used the 30 days of training camp as the springboard to our season. Our guys understand that.”
“It’s easier, especially for guys who have been here for a long time,” Ibaka said. “The new guys, they’re doing a better job of picking up stuff quickly. It’s making it easier for everybody.”
While Thunder veterans jump right in and hit the ground running with the drills, schemes and terminology that the team has used with one another for years, these initial days of camp are an opportunity for newcomers to get integrated as well. For Anthony Morrow, heading into his seventh NBA season, the first few days of practice have been a refreshing, eye-opening experience. Getting to work with his new teammates and his coaches has been fulfilling both on and off the floor for the Thunder sharp-shooter.
“It’s A-One, all the way from top to bottom,” Morrow said. “Practices have been unbelievable. Guys have been coming in, working hard with no egos, pushing each other every day and competing. It’s definitely the best training camp I’ve ever been a part of in my seven seasons.”
With only a handful of newcomers to bring into the fold – Morrow, Sebastian Telfair, Mitch McGary and four training camp invitees – the Thunder has been able to begin the initial stages of applying its fundamentals to some new schemes. Whether it comes in the form of play designs, defensive coverages or developing offensive continuity, the Thunder has the luxury of a deep and young but experienced roster that can handle new responsibilities and tasks.
Brooks and his staff will continue laying the foundation of fundamentals that this team wants to utilize throughout the season but can also use this time of two-a-day practices and no travel for trying out new concepts. The Thunder coaches spent all summer learning from last year and studying different methods of operating, making training camp the time to apply those lessons in an organized setting.
“It’s a combination of reinforcing and adding wrinkles along the way,” Brooks said. “The more experiences we’ve had over the years now, we can really add to it.”
“We’re looking for areas where we can enhance our defense and our offense,” Brooks explained. “Our guys are receptive to all of that and they work hard.”
Guys who have been with the Thunder in the past, even second-and-third-year men like Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones already seem to teammates to be more comfortable and confident in their roles. For Morrow and the other newcomers there will be a bit of a learning curve to master all of the terminology and schemes, but the process was started in voluntary workouts in September to get everyone up to speed by the time the regular season begins.
“It’s just a lot of chemistry and a lot of fundamental work,” Morrow explained. “It’s just a lot of the basics and little things we’re going to need to do during the season and the postseason as well. The main thing is just keeping guys intact and knowing it’s going to be one day at a time.”