Hi!

So, finally, my friends, I get to the topic which you’ve asked about like 20 times already – the practices. Here in the NBA a lot of things are different than in Europe in terms of preparation for the games. This is a completely different world. There’s a lot to be surprised with, a lot to learn and a lot to strive for.

On the verge of joining the NBA I had different thoughts about it. I thought about the things that I already could do in basketball (if I couldn’t, I don’t think they would offer me a contract))) and in what way I could use it there. I though about which exact things I still had to learn…

In reality it turned out that I had to get used to a very specific rhythm. It’s not so much about exhausting practices, but more about keeping yourself in perfect shape during this dizzying marathon of a season, all while obtaining new skills within the team.

Do you get it? Without any doubt, this knowledge is very useful. On the one hand, you work within the team and you have your responsibilities: practices and games. On the other hand, you’re absolutely not required to practice more than it’s scheduled for the team. And, considering the crazy schedule, it’s not so much practice time – one time a day, from one hour to an hour and a half. With that said, you have to (it’s not just preferred, but you exactly have to) meet the extremely high requirements it terms of shape and understanding of the tactics.

Of course, for you to reach what you “have to”, the club provides you with everything: practice facility, skilled trainers, an individual practice plan… But the personal responsibility here increased manifold! While in very comfortable environment, you have to learn how to be a real professional – to be responsible for yourself.

To make it even more clear, let’s use the examples.

The team has done the main part of practice work before the season even started. We were learning the set plays and did a lot, a lot of running. We’ve analyzed the defensive system, its main principles and specific elements. So we went through the offensive schemes and also slightly adjusted physically. I put it exactly this way, because what can you do in just five days of training camp? That’s right, the team was getting in shape for less than a week.

Of course, knowing that, players came to the training camp already in good shape. Everybody was getting ready for the season on his own, according to his individual plan. Of course somebody may have used a summer schedule made by a personal trainer or a trainer within the club staff. Somebody just relied on his own experience.

Right now we have these so called “working practice sessions” about once every two weeks. They last less than two hours. During those practices we have full-scale five-on-five scrimmages. For the rest of the time the team… goes over our set plays and analyzed the opponent’s offense. Like I said, it takes an hour and a half tops.

We go to the gym, warm up, and then we work on tactics and then on shooting. As team leaders work to make their shot better, players who don’t play much, they scrimmage. Normally it takes 20 to 40 minutes, with 6 or 8 players participating.

When we have back-to-back games, practices are even lighter. Like I said, sometimes we don’t practice at all. But normally after lunch (which also serves as a breakfast, because we often arrive at night) we go to a special hall at the hotel (like a conference hall). There, a basketball lay-out is already marked on the floor. So there we walk (I mean, don’t run) and go over our set plays again. For about 20 minutes I guess. And then we rest. Those who need it, they hit the workout room.

I have to say that a lot of players want to go to the workout room. Because, I’ll repeat myself: your physical shape depends on you in a great way. Of course nobody is dying under the weights there. But everybody knows exactly what he needs to do.

So, this is how a 20-minute team workout is just perfect in terms of time length. I know it sounds weird when you’re not used to it. But when you look at the results, it’s a fact. An unquestionable fact.

Of course, at the same time coaches try to teach us something new. How? I’ll blog about it in a few days, I’ll tell you about my individual practices. By the way, you’ve asked about my numbers in the weight room. So, my record for bench press is 268 lbs. But I’ll talk about it more a bit later.

To sum up my impressions. All in all, I can’t say that practices here are harder than at Khimki. More likely, it’s on the contrary. There we had both two-hour practices and two-a-days. But in the NBA, like I’m sure you got it, there are other nuances, the whole process is different and there are other difficult parts.

See you soon!

nixluva wrote:I'm not sure what point this post is supposed to be making. The part u bolded is about shorter practices on back to backs which makes sense. Perhaps they will change to a longer practice in order to get more work in on D. I don't think this team had a practice problem. This coach has had this same practice style when they were winning 60 games and it didn't slow them down. This team plays at a high pace so more rest seems to make sense.

Don't you think that mda being an elite coach in the league players would benefit for a practice longer than 20 minutes with him?

martin wrote:

nykshaknbake wrote:

nixluva wrote:I'm not sure what point this post is supposed to be making. The part u bolded is about shorter practices on back to backs which makes sense. Perhaps they will change to a longer practice in order to get more work in on D. I don't think this team had a practice problem. This coach has had this same practice style when they were winning 60 games and it didn't slow them down. This team plays at a high pace so more rest seems to make sense.

Don't you think that mda being an elite coach in the league players would benefit for a practice longer than 20 minutes with him?

absolutely.

But don't take the 20 minutes literally and don't think for a second that Moz and other players dont have the assistant coaches who specialize in different areas of the game at their side at any moment for as long as they want.

Anyone who would take the 20 minutes line from a player in some article and try to crystallize it as a sure-fire argument is taking stabs at nothing. Unless they are a former player and have actually been through a season and the rigors of an actually game-practice-travel schedule, they know right around zero about which they talk.

Are we talking full-team practice where everyone is on the court? Or that and the time each player works out and does full team practice and then also works on individual game? Was this during the month of March?

What is the normal day-to-day for a team? how much do players practice?

We really don't know. 20 minutes could be par for the course during parts of any teams' season.

nixluva wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

martin wrote:

nykshaknbake wrote:

nixluva wrote:I'm not sure what point this post is supposed to be making. The part u bolded is about shorter practices on back to backs which makes sense. Perhaps they will change to a longer practice in order to get more work in on D. I don't think this team had a practice problem. This coach has had this same practice style when they were winning 60 games and it didn't slow them down. This team plays at a high pace so more rest seems to make sense.

Don't you think that mda being an elite coach in the league players would benefit for a practice longer than 20 minutes with him?

absolutely.

But don't take the 20 minutes literally and don't think for a second that Moz and other players dont have the assistant coaches who specialize in different areas of the game at their side at any moment for as long as they want.

Anyone who would take the 20 minutes line from a player in some article and try to crystallize it as a sure-fire argument is taking stabs at nothing. Unless they are a former player and have actually been through a season and the rigors of an actually game-practice-travel schedule, they know right around zero about which they talk.

Are we talking full-team practice where everyone is on the court? Or that and the time each player works out and does full team practice and then also works on individual game? Was this during the month of March?

What is the normal day-to-day for a team? how much do players practice?

We really don't know. 20 minutes could be par for the course during parts of any teams' season.

I think 20 minutes is accurate. Grant Hill talked about D'Antoni's practices when he was a Sun in an interview and said that sometimes the team even practiced for 45 minutes.

A player with the injury history of Grant Hill i'm sure would benefit from less practice. The same goes for Nash and Amar'e both of whom have physical issues they've managed to deal with longer than most thought they would. Look at how effective these guys have been despite those issues. As usual this is where a coach that truly KNOWS what the heck he's doing trumps the armchair coaches who only THINK they know what they're talking about.

Crush you and a lot of others LOVE to keep bringing up D'Antoni's record here as if the organization was going 110% for wins in the 1st 2 years. You know full well that they weren't.

Walsh should get David Stern's vote for Executive of the Year, based on the fact that it took him only seven months to undo five years of Isiah Thomas' cap-killing mismanagement.

It was always considered impossible around here, but by November, Walsh put the Knicks in a position to make a score in the great free-agent sweepstakes of 2010. That's no small thing, considering the two presidents before him, Thomas and Scott Layden, didn't find a way to get under the cap. It hasn't happened since Ernie Grunfeld did it in 1996, working under Dave Checketts and a lot of great free agents have changed teams since then.

With Jim Dolan, thankfully, taking a leave from all matters basketball, Walsh put the Knicks in play for two big-time players in 2010. He probably cost his team a few extra wins and to that we say ... so what?

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-04-15/sports/17921269_1_knicks-scott-layden-sign-and-trade-deals

All I ask when it comes to judging MDA is to be fair. It seems that in NY so many fans refuse to tell the whole truth. Sure just bring up the record and ignore the fact that the teams goal was to tear it down in order to reload in 2010, which we did.

MDA is under contract for this year (if a season) and I would imagine he and Dolan have a gauge to determine marked progress that would lead to him leaving or getting an extension.

His first two years of roster changes are highly discussed and evaluated. The goal was to shed contracts and reboot for 2010. Team made playoffs last year. With all that has happened with trades and roster changes that is the bottom line. We have a coach that is does not emphasize defense nor a roster that plays to that strength. The two alphas in Melo and Amare have never been known for their defensive prowess.

If they want to bring in a big name assistant to coach defense thats fine, but just having the name and his presence might make some people happy but it all gets sorted on the court in time.

martin wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

martin wrote:

nykshaknbake wrote:

nixluva wrote:I'm not sure what point this post is supposed to be making. The part u bolded is about shorter practices on back to backs which makes sense. Perhaps they will change to a longer practice in order to get more work in on D. I don't think this team had a practice problem. This coach has had this same practice style when they were winning 60 games and it didn't slow them down. This team plays at a high pace so more rest seems to make sense.

Don't you think that mda being an elite coach in the league players would benefit for a practice longer than 20 minutes with him?

absolutely.

But don't take the 20 minutes literally and don't think for a second that Moz and other players dont have the assistant coaches who specialize in different areas of the game at their side at any moment for as long as they want.

Anyone who would take the 20 minutes line from a player in some article and try to crystallize it as a sure-fire argument is taking stabs at nothing. Unless they are a former player and have actually been through a season and the rigors of an actually game-practice-travel schedule, they know right around zero about which they talk.

Are we talking full-team practice where everyone is on the court? Or that and the time each player works out and does full team practice and then also works on individual game? Was this during the month of March?

What is the normal day-to-day for a team? how much do players practice?

We really don't know. 20 minutes could be par for the course during parts of any teams' season.

I think 20 minutes is accurate. Grant Hill talked about D'Antoni's practices when he was a Sun in an interview and said that sometimes the team even practiced for 45 minutes.

accurate of what?

Right now we have these so called “working practice sessions” about once every two weeks. They last less than two hours. During those practices we have full-scale five-on-five scrimmages. For the rest of the time the team… goes over our set plays and analyzed the opponent’s offense. Like I said, it takes an hour and a half tops.

We go to the gym, warm up, and then we work on tactics and then on shooting. As team leaders work to make their shot better, players who don’t play much, they scrimmage. Normally it takes 20 to 40 minutes, with 6 or 8 players participating.

When we have back-to-back games, practices are even lighter. Like I said, sometimes we don’t practice at all. But normally after lunch (which also serves as a breakfast, because we often arrive at night) we go to a special hall at the hotel (like a conference hall). There, a basketball lay-out is already marked on the floor. So there we walk (I mean, don’t run) and go over our set plays again. For about 20 minutes I guess. And then we rest. Those who need it, they hit the workout room.

In reality it turned out that I had to get used to a very specific rhythm. It’s not so much about exhausting practices, but more about keeping yourself in perfect shape during this dizzying marathon of a season, all while obtaining new skills within the team.
Do you get it? Without any doubt, this knowledge is very useful. On the one hand, you work within the team and you have your responsibilities: practices and games. On the other hand, you’re absolutely not required to practice more than it’s scheduled for the team. And, considering the crazy schedule, it’s not so much practice time – one time a day, from one hour to an hour and a half. With that said, you have to (it’s not just preferred, but you exactly have to) meet the extremely high requirements it terms of shape and understanding of the tactics.
Of course, for you to reach what you “have to”, the club provides you with everything: practice facility, skilled trainers, an individual practice plan… But the personal responsibility here increased manifold! While in very comfortable environment, you have to learn how to be a real professional – to be responsible for yourself.

This reminds me of the jump from H.S. to College. Kids often fall off due to not realizing that it's all on them and it's about personal responsibility.