open practice?

[angelbelow]

i wish... i live in LA..

[Avitus1]

How did you get your voucher? Just curious...

[DannyT]

on base where I work at

[Darkwaters]

I just got back from the open practice. It was pretty cool. There was no scrimmage or anything though (likely because of the game tonight). Still, we got to sit really close to the court and watch them do their thing.

First they did some basic warm-ups by just dribbling around the court. Next they started running various plays in 3 different groups (1st team, second team, third team). I'll list the teams they used later. And at the end they broke into two groups and had some shooting compe ions. The practice was maybe 35 minutes and then they broke for the day. Most of the players stuck around a while to sign autographs and just say hi. Duncan, Bowen, Tony, Bonner, Vaughn, Oberto and Finley were all over the place signing everything. Most of the rest of the guys went in pretty quickly.

When they ran their plays in the middle of practice here are the 3 teams they ran:

1st Team
Parker
Finley
Bowen
Bonner
Duncan

2nd Team
Vaughn
Mason
Udoka
Tolliver
Oberto

3rd Team
Stoudemire
Farmer
Hairston
Green
Thomas

After they ran a bunch of sets in those groups they started switching out who was in what group. But those are the groups that the vast majority of the sets were run with.

George Hill did not run any of the offensive sets. Instead he stood on the sideline next to an asst Coach and watched the whole time. He kept asking questions and was obviously having a conversation the whole time about what was going on on the court.

Watkins was nowhere to be seen. Was he cut?

Ginobili was present at practice but (obviously) did not work out.

Pop also made a comment on the microphone regarding Bonner saying, "Whos that redheaded guy? You're probably all wondering that. But you'll be seeing a lot more of him this year."

I noticed something interesting, Anthony Tolliver and Devin Green stood next to each other and talked for a good while. But while Tolliver is generally listed as 6'8 and Green at 6'7 it was obvious that Green was taller. Not much, but taller for sure.

During the offensive sets Hairston seemed to have quite a few mental lapses and had to be corrected by fellow teammates on several occasions. Meanwhile, Farmer received ovations from Pop on a couple occasions. Not sure what it means, but those two guys are probably fighting one another for a spot.

[angel_luv]

Awesome report.

Which of the players did you most enjoy greeting?

[duncan228]

Thanks for the info Darkwaters. It sounds like it was fun. Did you bring a camera?

[DannyT]

I will post pictures later....Farmer was hitting on his shots....and seemed to be in a good flow...the best part for me was when the team split into two groups and had the shooting comp....but that's about as compe ive as it got....

[duncan228]

I will post pictures later...

Thanks.

[exstatic]

I just got back from the open practice. It was pretty cool. There was no scrimmage or anything though (likely because of the game tonight). Still, we got to sit really close to the court and watch them do their thing.

First they did some basic warm-ups by just dribbling around the court. Next they started running various plays in 3 different groups (1st team, second team, third team). I'll list the teams they used later. And at the end they broke into two groups and had some shooting compe ions. The practice was maybe 35 minutes and then they broke for the day. Most of the players stuck around a while to sign autographs and just say hi. Duncan, Bowen, Tony, Bonner, Vaughn, Oberto and Finley were all over the place signing everything. Most of the rest of the guys went in pretty quickly.

When they ran their plays in the middle of practice here are the 3 teams they ran:

1st Team
Parker
Finley
Bowen
Bonner
Duncan

2nd Team
Vaughn
Mason
Udoka
Tolliver
Oberto

3rd Team
Stoudemire
Farmer
Hairston
Green
Thomas

After they ran a bunch of sets in those groups they started switching out who was in what group. But those are the groups that the vast majority of the sets were run with.

George Hill did not run any of the offensive sets. Instead he stood on the sideline next to an asst Coach and watched the whole time. He kept asking questions and was obviously having a conversation the whole time about what was going on on the court.

Watkins was nowhere to be seen. Was he cut?

Ginobili was present at practice but (obviously) did not work out.

Pop also made a comment on the microphone regarding Bonner saying, "Whos that redheaded guy? You're probably all wondering that. But you'll be seeing a lot more of him this year."

I noticed something interesting, Anthony Tolliver and Devin Green stood next to each other and talked for a good while. But while Tolliver is generally listed as 6'8 and Green at 6'7 it was obvious that Green was taller. Not much, but taller for sure.

During the offensive sets Hairston seemed to have quite a few mental lapses and had to be corrected by fellow teammates on several occasions. Meanwhile, Farmer received ovations from Pop on a couple occasions. Not sure what it means, but those two guys are probably fighting one another for a spot.

If they're running only 15 players, they've probably made cuts. They were supposed to make them sometime today.

[Darkwaters]

No, didn't bring a camera. I don't even have one here honestly (my suitcase only fits so much!).

I forgot to mention that Charles Gaines was present at practice. He rotated into a few of the offensive sets with the 3rd team but really wasn't involved much in that part. His jumper is nasty too. I don't like it at all.

angel,

Bowen was hilarious. He made some jokes about going to get us coffee and donuts and then looked in the direction of some of the rookies and implied that there were people better suited for the task.

Mason seemed nice but bounced out quickly.

Nobody really wanted Vaughn's autograph, but he stood on the court and had in depth conversations with anyone that wanted to say hi. He seemed very "real" in that setting.

I was trying to get to George, but he ran in almost instantly.

[Allanon]

Watkins was nowhere to be seen. Was he cut?

Pop also made a comment on the microphone regarding Bonner saying, "Whos that redheaded guy? You're probably all wondering that. But you'll be seeing a lot more of him this year."

I noticed something interesting, Anthony Tolliver and Devin Green stood next to each other and talked for a good while. But while Tolliver is generally listed as 6'8 and Green at 6'7 it was obvious that Green was taller. Not much, but taller for sure.

During the offensive sets Hairston seemed to have quite a few mental lapses and had to be corrected by fellow teammates on several occasions. Meanwhile, Farmer received ovations from Pop on a couple occasions. Not sure what it means, but those two guys are probably fighting one another for a spot.

That was some really good stuff. I had not heard anything about Watkins but it's a bit odd that he wasn't there.

Green is taller than Tolliver? Devin Green used to be Kobe's backup at shooting guard so I guess Tolliver is shorter than I thought. If that's the case, he's more of a small forward/guard.

I liked Devin Green when he was a Laker, how'd he do at practice?

[Bruno]

No Mahinmi ?

[Darkwaters]

No Mahinmi ?

Mahinmi was there as well. He shot around a little before the practice but he did not partake in any drills. I think he sat next to Manu.

[angel_luv]

angel,

Bowen was hilarious. He made some jokes about going to get us coffee and donuts and then looked in the direction of some of the rookies and implied that there were people better suited for the task.

Mason seemed nice but bounced out quickly.

Nobody really wanted Vaughn's autograph, but he stood on the court and had in depth conversations with anyone that wanted to say hi. He seemed very "real" in that setting.

I was trying to get to George, but he ran in almost instantly.

How fun! Thanks for sharing.

If I had gone I would have loved to have said hi to Timmy, Manu, and Bruce.

[ducks]

so mike ran with tp and parker
looks like mike will be the starter

[exstatic]

so mike ran with tp and parker
looks like mike will be the starter

Uh, Bonner ran with them, too. KT was running with group C, and Oberto with group B, and I think those guys have a MUCH greater chance of starting than Bonner.

[Bruno]

Mahinmi was there as well. He shot around a little before the practice but he did not partake in any drills. I think he sat next to Manu.

Thanks.

[byrdman31]

i just got my voucher for next weekend! whoooooooo hooo


another meet and greet and practice

[Darkwaters]

i just got my voucher for next weekend! whoooooooo hooo


another meet and greet and practice

Really? ANOTHER practice?

[T Park]

Sounds like Watkins got the ax.

[Darkwaters]

Confirmed?

[Obstructed_View]

Sounds like Watkins got the ax.

If he hasn't, it's just a matter of time. timvp was right; when Pop doesn't remember your name you're most likely just filling minutes in camp. The only reason he looked like an option is because Mahinmi has been out.

[Ice009]

Mahinmi better ing be a good defender and help protect that rim if they've cut Watkins.

If Watkins is gone that only leaves my other pick Farmer. If Pop was giving him ovations that's a good sign .

I don't like the sound of seeing Bonner more this season though. What is Pop thinking on that one?

[mystargtr34]

I just got back from the open practice. It was pretty cool. There was no scrimmage or anything though (likely because of the game tonight). Still, we got to sit really close to the court and watch them do their thing.

First they did some basic warm-ups by just dribbling around the court. Next they started running various plays in 3 different groups (1st team, second team, third team). I'll list the teams they used later. And at the end they broke into two groups and had some shooting compe ions. The practice was maybe 35 minutes and then they broke for the day. Most of the players stuck around a while to sign autographs and just say hi. Duncan, Bowen, Tony, Bonner, Vaughn, Oberto and Finley were all over the place signing everything. Most of the rest of the guys went in pretty quickly.

When they ran their plays in the middle of practice here are the 3 teams they ran:

1st Team
Parker
Finley
Bowen
Bonner
Duncan

2nd Team
Vaughn
Mason
Udoka
Tolliver
Oberto

3rd Team
Stoudemire
Farmer
Hairston
Green
Thomas

After they ran a bunch of sets in those groups they started switching out who was in what group. But those are the groups that the vast majority of the sets were run with.

George Hill did not run any of the offensive sets. Instead he stood on the sideline next to an asst Coach and watched the whole time. He kept asking questions and was obviously having a conversation the whole time about what was going on on the court.

Watkins was nowhere to be seen. Was he cut?

Ginobili was present at practice but (obviously) did not work out.

Pop also made a comment on the microphone regarding Bonner saying, "Whos that redheaded guy? You're probably all wondering that. But you'll be seeing a lot more of him this year."

I noticed something interesting, Anthony Tolliver and Devin Green stood next to each other and talked for a good while. But while Tolliver is generally listed as 6'8 and Green at 6'7 it was obvious that Green was taller. Not much, but taller for sure.

During the offensive sets Hairston seemed to have quite a few mental lapses and had to be corrected by fellow teammates on several occasions. Meanwhile, Farmer received ovations from Pop on a couple occasions. Not sure what it means, but those two guys are probably fighting one another for a spot.

That canbe decieving at times, if you look at the pre draft measurements Tolliver actually has good size, it should definately allow him to play the 4 next to Duncan and defend and rebound at NBA level.

Height w/o shoes - 6'7"
Height w/shoes - 6'8.5"
Wingspan - 7'2.5"
Standing Reach - 8'11.5"

Despite being a bit undersized for the 4 spot in terms of height, his long arms make up for that so he should have no problems at all.

Put that standing reach in to perspective

Al Horford 8'11"
Joakim Noah 8'10.5"

Devin Green im not sure about, but i doubt he is 6'9" in shoes.

[DannyT]