Fatigue Becoming a Factor
By Nick Adams | October 3, 2007
Fatigue began to set in as the team returned for their fifth training camp day at RDV Sportsplex. Wednesday's practice was a two-a-day session featuring a three quarter intersquad scrimmage.
According to Coach Van Gundy, it was a very sloppy scrimmage.
"It was a very, very sloppy day because of the fatigue, but the effort was still there."
Though the practice was not up to Van Gundy's standards, he took into consideration the physical condition of the team.
"I am not going to read too much into it because it was a very tired group today. This is our fifth training camp day, we play an up-tempo style, and we played three quarters, no halftime, with 15 guys."
There were seven guys on one team, and eight on another. The white team featuring Dwight Howard and J.J. Redick dominated the black team featuring Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson by a score of 78-57.
The players only have to fight their exhaustion for one more day as they wrap up their two-a-day session Thursday and have an intersquad scrimmage on Friday at RDV Sportsplex. The scrimmage will not be open to the public.
Some Highlights...
Keyon Injured
Keyon Dooling did not participate in Wednesday's scrimmage due to a groin injury. Dooling is expected to miss 4-5 days. He has been dealing with the injury for most of camp and has decided to give it some rest. Dooling has been playing significant time at the point guard position but will be used at shooting guard as well.
Doubling Dwight
After leading the league in turnovers last season, another emphasis on Dwight Howard's game will be his decision making out of the double team. Coach Van Gundy said that in their scrimmage there was a two minute span where they double teamed Dwight every time down the floor and he made three great passes.
"He has been really focused on passing out of the post and has greatly improved in that area of his game so far."
Van Gundy has been giving Dwight different looks out of the double team. Double teaming him after Dwight begins to make a move and double teaming him when he has his back to the basket. Throwing Dwight different looks will allow him to become more comfortable distributing the ball to cutters through the lane and spot up shooters.
Swapping Squads
Coach Van Gundy has been consistent with changing up the teams and forcing different players and lineups to work together. The versatility of the players has allowed Van Gundy to experiment with different teams and lineups. The ability to mix up big and small lineups will create match-up problems for opposing defenses.
"We need to figure out who our best players are and which lineups work best with each other," stated Van Gundy. "It is a fun challenge to have and it will be fun watching a power forward try to guard both Rashard and Hedo."
Obviously, Rashard and Dwight are the go to guys. However, Van Gundy has expressed his confidence in the fact that he has a lot of players who possess the ability to take over spurts of a game. Multiple lineups with the freedom in a fast pace game, should make for an exciting team to watch.
Aligning the Stars
The inside/outside threat of Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis has been a key focus at training camp. Today's scrimmage was the first in which Dwight and Rashard did not play on the same team. Coach Van Gundy wanted to split them up in order to give the defenses a chance to double team each player and to give Dwight and Rashard a chance to be the focal part of each team's offense.
Bogans Balling
According to Van Gundy, Keith Bogans has been absolutely lights out. Bogans has been the best shooter from the perimeter at camp thus far shooting a ridiculous 57 percent from beyond the arch. The double teams drawn by Dwight and Rashard has provided many open looks for Bogans mainly from the corners. Similar to that of Bruce Bowen with the San Antonio Spurs. Much like Bowen, Bogans is a solid perimeter defender which benefits him as he fights for the starting shooting guard position.
Fatigue began to set in as the team returned for their fifth training camp day at RDV Sportsplex. Wednesday's practice was a two-a-day session featuring a three quarter intersquad scrimmage.According to Coach Van Gundy, it was a very sloppy scrimmage.
"It was a very, very sloppy day because of the fatigue, but the effort was still there."
Though the practice was not up to Van Gundy's standards, he took into consideration the physical condition of the team.
"I am not going to read too much into it because it was a very tired group today. This is our fifth training camp day, we play an up-tempo style, and we played three quarters, no halftime, with 15 guys."
There were seven guys on one team, and eight on another. The white team featuring Dwight Howard and J.J. Redick dominated the black team featuring Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson by a score of 78-57.
The players only have to fight their exhaustion for one more day as they wrap up their two-a-day session Thursday and have an intersquad scrimmage on Friday at RDV Sportsplex. The scrimmage will not be open to the public.
Some Highlights...
Keyon Injured
Keyon Dooling did not participate in Wednesday's scrimmage due to a groin injury. Dooling is expected to miss 4-5 days. He has been dealing with the injury for most of camp and has decided to give it some rest. Dooling has been playing significant time at the point guard position but will be used at shooting guard as well.
Doubling Dwight
After leading the league in turnovers last season, another emphasis on Dwight Howard's game will be his decision making out of the double team. Coach Van Gundy said that in their scrimmage there was a two minute span where they double teamed Dwight every time down the floor and he made three great passes.
"He has been really focused on passing out of the post and has greatly improved in that area of his game so far."
Van Gundy has been giving Dwight different looks out of the double team. Double teaming him after Dwight begins to make a move and double teaming him when he has his back to the basket. Throwing Dwight different looks will allow him to become more comfortable distributing the ball to cutters through the lane and spot up shooters.
Swapping SquadsCoach Van Gundy has been consistent with changing up the teams and forcing different players and lineups to work together. The versatility of the players has allowed Van Gundy to experiment with different teams and lineups. The ability to mix up big and small lineups will create match-up problems for opposing defenses.
"We need to figure out who our best players are and which lineups work best with each other," stated Van Gundy. "It is a fun challenge to have and it will be fun watching a power forward try to guard both Rashard and Hedo."
Obviously, Rashard and Dwight are the go to guys. However, Van Gundy has expressed his confidence in the fact that he has a lot of players who possess the ability to take over spurts of a game. Multiple lineups with the freedom in a fast pace game, should make for an exciting team to watch.
Aligning the Stars
The inside/outside threat of Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis has been a key focus at training camp. Today's scrimmage was the first in which Dwight and Rashard did not play on the same team. Coach Van Gundy wanted to split them up in order to give the defenses a chance to double team each player and to give Dwight and Rashard a chance to be the focal part of each team's offense.
Bogans Balling
According to Van Gundy, Keith Bogans has been absolutely lights out. Bogans has been the best shooter from the perimeter at camp thus far shooting a ridiculous 57 percent from beyond the arch. The double teams drawn by Dwight and Rashard has provided many open looks for Bogans mainly from the corners. Similar to that of Bruce Bowen with the San Antonio Spurs. Much like Bowen, Bogans is a solid perimeter defender which benefits him as he fights for the starting shooting guard position.
