I’ll have an additional post in the morning from last night’s practice in Natomas. But for now, here are a few quick hitters for you to digest on this evening.
By the time the session was viewable to media in attendance, the team was broken into four different groups and working drills. It was particularly intriguing to see Tyreke Evans working with the point guards – Isaiah Thomas, Aaron Brooks and Jimmer Fredette.
But don’t read too much into it. When asked why Evans was practicing with the lead guards, head coach Keith Smart offered the following explanation.
“I’m trying to keep all of our guys in the position of becoming good basketball players,” said Smart. “I didn’t want him to get away (with) him thinking that ‘You’re a two guard’ or ‘You’re a small forward’. I wanted him to see that he has to still keep sharpening those skills.”
It’s worth nothing that Marcus Thornton was grouped with the small forwards during the portion of drills media was allowed to watch.
We’ve covered the Kings’ team building adventure with a few posts here at Cowbell Kingdom. And based on the reaction we’ve heard, it seems like it was positive overall experience. Isaiah Thomas said that trust in each other was the most important aspect they took away from that day in Colorado Springs.
“We saw on that ropes course that we were pushing each other,” said the Kings second-year point guard. “Once you have that behind you ,where you’ve got teammates building your confidence, that makes it so much easier. That makes you want to go the extra mile for each other on the court.”
Practicing in the altitude of the Rockies took its toll. But the Kings feel like they’ve come away better both physically and mentally now that they’re back in Sacramento. They seemed to be in agreement that the one week in thin air put them ahead of the curve as far as conditioning is concerned.
“I think that it can only help,” said Kings power forward Jason Thompson. “You run five or ten times up the court here and you’ll get tired. But then you run one or two out there, then you start to feel a little bit different.”
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