Galloisdaman wrote:This team could be really bad or really surprise some folks. What an interesting group of guys. I have not seen many teams put together with so few guys used to playing together. The guys should some good attitudes. I'm excited to see what happens.
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Clemenza wrote:
No stress on him really. No more divas including Junior. A good group of blue collar hard edge guys with something to prove on the team now. Seems like an easy gig for him these days.
Are We Having Fun Yet? Clippers rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to impress his coach and teammatesThe Clippers believe their rookie guard is built for NBA success.
Coach Doc Rivers cautiously praised Gilgeous-Alexander as a potentially “special” talent last week but almost wished he hadn't, lest he create outsized expectations for the 20-year-old.
Such concerns apparently no longer bother the coach just two days into training camp.
“His vision, his size, his competitiveness, he’s got a chance to be a really special player,” Rivers said Wednesday. “He’s not going to be special tomorrow, but he may be special soon and he has it in him, there’s no doubt.”
His is not a lone opinion. It’s to the point that hearing Gilgeous-Alexander described as “special” is almost no longer a special occurrence.
“Potentially,” guard Patrick Beverley said, “a star in this league.”“Shooting will come, passing that will come and scoring comes over so much time as you get stronger,” Beverley said. “But the size that he has — 6-5, 6-6 — to be able to play at his own pace and not get sped up is real rare in this league.”
Some might even call it special.
Andrew Grief, LA Times
Clippers' Luc Mbah a Moute still puts in plenty of work at the start of his 11th NBA season“Over the years I’ve kind of changed my routine, but I’ve always been the last guy out,” he said. “Just the way I go about my business. I try to be professional, take care of my craft and if that can rub off on young guys, good.”
Said coach Doc Rivers: “He’s a pro.”“It’s a different team, it’s a different vibe, as well,” Mbah a Moute said. “The ball is moving, playing fast, a lot of guys playing good basketball. It’s different because you have a good mix of young guys and some veteran guys as well. I think if we can just hang our hat on playing hard every night, playing great defense and offensively moving and sharing the ball, which is what we’ve been doing, I think we’re going to be tough.”
Toughness is the trait that Clippers executives had in mind when building a superstar-less roster and that is expected to show through most on the defensive end. Rivers called Thursday’s practice competitive to a fault.
“We got a bunch of guys who are very tough and you can see that today, it almost got into one-on-one, ‘I’m going to stop my guy’ than instead of just keep doing the team stuff,” Rivers said. “I thought we got so competitive we forgot who we were, which is a good thing early on. You’ll take that.”
Andrew Greif, LA Times
Training Camp – Day 2 News & Notes: LA Taking Full Advantage of Camp In Hawaii
From a strategic standpoint, coach Rivers highlighted a shift in the team’s offensive philosophy for the upcoming season. He expects the team to run a “read-react” type offense, where the team eschews set motion plays in favor of a flow-based system that empowers players to make decisions based off of what the defense provides and uses a healthy mix of ball-handlers.
“We don’t want to be a point guard-oriented offense. If the [point guard] gets the rebound, he pushes it, but if the [power forward] gets the rebound, he’s bringing it up. The only one that’s not dribbling and bringing the ball up is the [center],” said Rivers. “Other than that, any of the four guys can start the offense and make a read. Everything is reads, there are no calls. We had a silent portion of practice where you play basketball, and no one can say a word. You just read and react, and I thought it was one of our better points of practice.”
Brandon Ehrlich, Clippers.com
_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip Clippers have new and old faces aboard, each paddling towards the same destination“To be able to be in a different-type atmosphere and as a team be able to be here with each other and lock in, that’s what training camp is about,” forward Tobias Harris said. “We spend a lot of time together.”“When (expletive) gets real we going to have to depend on each other,” said Beverley, who has used the time to learn how each teammate prefers to communicate. “And the more you’re around each other the more you can trust one another.”Everyone agrees that Hawaii is an ideal location. This is the second consecutive year the team has held its camp here, helped by a partnership with the state’s tourism arm. It's a far cry from the “little family motel on the side of the road” in Yuma, Ariz., where the Clippers stayed while preparing for the 1980 preseason, recalled broadcaster Ralph Lawler, who is preparing to call his 40th and final season with the franchise. Beverley once attended a camp with the Miami Heat, held at a military base, that was “hard as hell.” Rivers remembers the brutal heat and workload of his rookie camp, held at Florida State University. Plus, he had to share his room.
Andrew Greif, LA Times
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