Day Two of Training Camp
By Nick Adams | September 30, 2007
After a grueling first day of training camp, the players were back on the practice floor at RDV Sportsplex for another intense Camp Van Gundy two-a-day.
The fatigue of the first day didn't faze the players as the intensity increased on the second day.
"The intensity level went way up at the defensive end of the floor," stated Coach Van Gundy. "The pace of the game went up offensively as well."
"This has been the most intense training camp I have ever been in," said Jameer Nelson.
Van Gundy expressed his pleasure with the team's overall improvement the second day of practice.
"Yesterday was a pretty good day for a first day, but today they played like they really wanted to be good. I was very, very, very happy with the improvement today."
The team didn't begin their 9 AM practice out on the floor. The team spent the first hour and a half watching film of yesterday's practice.
They then ran a couple of drills and scrimmaged for the remainder of practice.
The team played an NBA half. It was a high scoring half, with the final score of 50-47. This was a dramatic change from the 41-32 score in yesterday's scrimmage.
"It was a high scoring half," commented Van Gundy, "and yet I thought the defense was remarkably better than yesterday."
Overall, Van Gundy was very pleased with the first session of practice of the second day of camp.
"I know it was just one day and we aren't even into October yet, but if we have more days like today, we have the chance to really improve and become a really good team."
Some of the highlights...
Rashard's D
Coach Van Gundy commented that as aggresive as Rashard is on the offensive end, he works his tail off on the defensive end. Rashard is working hard defensively, taking what the team is trying to do on 'D' to heart.
"He is a pretty quiet guy," said Van Gundy, "but in these two days I think it is clear to everybody Rashard's effort and intensity. He is really serious about winning."
Everyone knows what Rashard can do offensively, but having one of your best players dedicated defensively really benefits the entire team.
Unselfishness
Whenever there has been a question about a specific player and their progress in camp, generally the answer always turns back to the team.
Coach Van Gundy says he isn't focused on who had really good days but that he is more focused on group efforts. He couldn't single out just one guy in the past couple of days who has impressed him.
And apparently, the players feel the same way.
"Everyone played a part in what we did today," Nelson said. "I don't think you can single out just one guy who lit it up. Everyone put a couple points and had a couple of assists. We all made progress today. We had great defense, but we just had better offense. We ran our sets well. We made basketball plays today and executed very well."
Notice the number of We's versus the number of I's.
Bumps and Bruises
Everyone in camp has remained healthy thus far. No injuries to report except for the bump Keyon Dooling got above his left eye after catching an elbow down in the post from Dwight Howard.
Van Gundy claims that it is nothing major and that Keyon was actually in the right place defensively. Dooling was expected to see a lot of minutes in the morning scrimmage before the injury and instead watched from the sidelines.
Raining Threes
Most of the points today came via the three ball. Van Gundy likes the option of the three and wants to use it a little more because he likes the floor spread. The team is not looking for the three- pointer, but want to have the option of outside shooting opportunities when the ball goes into the post.
The team shot a lot today from beyond the arc and made a lot. Last year's team didn't attempt many threes, but shot a good percentage. From the early practices it seems that with J.J. Redick elevating his game, Hedo Turkoglu picking up where he left off and the addition of Lewis, the Magic should be considered a threat from outside this season.
Van Gundy used the three-pointer in Miami to spread out the floor for Shaq and Wade, and looks to do the same for Dwight and Jameer.
After a grueling first day of training camp, the players were back on the practice floor at RDV Sportsplex for another intense Camp Van Gundy two-a-day.The fatigue of the first day didn't faze the players as the intensity increased on the second day.
"The intensity level went way up at the defensive end of the floor," stated Coach Van Gundy. "The pace of the game went up offensively as well."
"This has been the most intense training camp I have ever been in," said Jameer Nelson.
Van Gundy expressed his pleasure with the team's overall improvement the second day of practice.
"Yesterday was a pretty good day for a first day, but today they played like they really wanted to be good. I was very, very, very happy with the improvement today."
The team didn't begin their 9 AM practice out on the floor. The team spent the first hour and a half watching film of yesterday's practice.
They then ran a couple of drills and scrimmaged for the remainder of practice.
The team played an NBA half. It was a high scoring half, with the final score of 50-47. This was a dramatic change from the 41-32 score in yesterday's scrimmage.
"It was a high scoring half," commented Van Gundy, "and yet I thought the defense was remarkably better than yesterday."
Overall, Van Gundy was very pleased with the first session of practice of the second day of camp.
"I know it was just one day and we aren't even into October yet, but if we have more days like today, we have the chance to really improve and become a really good team."
Some of the highlights...
Rashard's D
Coach Van Gundy commented that as aggresive as Rashard is on the offensive end, he works his tail off on the defensive end. Rashard is working hard defensively, taking what the team is trying to do on 'D' to heart.
"He is a pretty quiet guy," said Van Gundy, "but in these two days I think it is clear to everybody Rashard's effort and intensity. He is really serious about winning."
Everyone knows what Rashard can do offensively, but having one of your best players dedicated defensively really benefits the entire team.
Unselfishness
Whenever there has been a question about a specific player and their progress in camp, generally the answer always turns back to the team.
Coach Van Gundy says he isn't focused on who had really good days but that he is more focused on group efforts. He couldn't single out just one guy in the past couple of days who has impressed him.
And apparently, the players feel the same way.
"Everyone played a part in what we did today," Nelson said. "I don't think you can single out just one guy who lit it up. Everyone put a couple points and had a couple of assists. We all made progress today. We had great defense, but we just had better offense. We ran our sets well. We made basketball plays today and executed very well."
Notice the number of We's versus the number of I's.
Bumps and BruisesEveryone in camp has remained healthy thus far. No injuries to report except for the bump Keyon Dooling got above his left eye after catching an elbow down in the post from Dwight Howard.
Van Gundy claims that it is nothing major and that Keyon was actually in the right place defensively. Dooling was expected to see a lot of minutes in the morning scrimmage before the injury and instead watched from the sidelines.
Raining Threes
Most of the points today came via the three ball. Van Gundy likes the option of the three and wants to use it a little more because he likes the floor spread. The team is not looking for the three- pointer, but want to have the option of outside shooting opportunities when the ball goes into the post.
The team shot a lot today from beyond the arc and made a lot. Last year's team didn't attempt many threes, but shot a good percentage. From the early practices it seems that with J.J. Redick elevating his game, Hedo Turkoglu picking up where he left off and the addition of Lewis, the Magic should be considered a threat from outside this season.
Van Gundy used the three-pointer in Miami to spread out the floor for Shaq and Wade, and looks to do the same for Dwight and Jameer.
