http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-061214a This is an interview of Jim O'Brien fromer coach of Sixers about Allen Iverson You coached Iverson when he was coming off a tough time with then-coach Chris Ford. You sat down with Iverson after a season in which his team had struggled. And you had traveled to Turkey to get to know him before the 2004 Olympics. He said he didn't want me to manage him through the media -- that wasn't a problem because that's not how I coach. I told him that I wanted him to be a leader, that he would have to be a person who was going to be on time and be ready to lace 'em up. And I told him I would never have him leave his legs on the practice floor. He had to stretch with the team and start practice with us, but leave it to me to take him out. I never had a problem with him about practicing. His famous "practice" comments came in 2002. Can we talk about practice? It's true he doesn't need practice to be a great player. But back then what he sometimes did not recognize is that for the team to play its best, he needs to practice -- the group needs reps to gel defensively and offensively. T-Mac knows JVG's system very well by now. Can he perfect it? Sure. However, I agree with Jim O'Brien that great players more than anything just need fresh legs. Put them out there and watch their magic. I know JVG would have to swallow a hard pill, but I think he should consider it to preserve Tmac. When Tmac comes off 2 days rest, he has a bounce in his step. I play a little bball and have a bad back and when my legs are tired, I overexert my back to overcompensate. Fresh and stretched leg muscles are the key to back injury prevention. I know this sounds crazy, but I really think that his slow start and inconisistency are due to tired legs coming off an offseason where he did nothing physical. Often times he starts games energetically on both ends, but his motor is not running at the same pace at the end of games. Should JVG loosen up a bit (take it easier on Yao and Tmac in practice) and think outside the box or is the pressure of winning now making him a bigger control freak?
I'm sure that all this 'tired legs' stuff is simply mental. I mean, if you play 6 hours of basketball, surely a day or two rest will fully heal them right? It's not as if they will be permenantly damaged for the next six months and then heal. If he just thinks that 'T-Mac, you had two days off, then what the hell are you thinking about tiredness?' he'll probably be able to boost his confidence level and *hopefully* return to All-Star status.
I think it depends on how JVG runs his practices... I assume most of his practices he is working on plays, shooting, ft, etc.. I doubt these guys would be going full out for extended periods of time... especially if it is between a common 2 game spread... where you play one day, off one day, play the next day... if guys are going full out... for a whole practice... they woud burn out... for sure...
We know that Jeff has always had rigorous practices with this team, but do we know how he handles T-mac? It's all a mystery to me, but I agree "fresh legs" is a mental thing. T-mac has a bad back...nothing he can do about that.
JVG's practices during the season are supposed to be really easy. Lots of standing around for plays and watching tape and all that. It's the preseason that players have a hard time getting through.
I agree with you. We don't know if he handles T-Mac differently, but my guess is he makes them practice the same way. He always talks about the best player practicing hard. From T-Mac interviews, I recall him saying JVG makes him practice really hard. I disagree with the notion of "fresh legs" however. Fresh legs is not mental. It's very much physical and tangible. Jumpers hitting front rim is not mental.
I don't care if he practices anything else, but he needs to practice free throws. I'll be fine if he does that, he runs the team anyway so doesn't need to practice the plays and such.
Obviously these guys don't play much ball if they don't know that your legs do get tired and heavy. Once that happens the shots get flat and you do have to overcompensate in some instances to keep it going. It matters most if you're logging heavy minutes and are the focal point of an offense. Then again, Assistant coach tells his pet paper the CHRON that fatigue is mind over matter.
practice isn't just about learning what the coach wants you to do, it's about learning how to play with your teammates and vice-versa. practice isn't so grueling. it's not like a game. i'd rather him rest / pace himself by coming off the bench for limited minutes during back-2-backs and even times where we play a lot of games in a short amount of time.
This is expecting too much from Tracy as he has a bad back and is damaged goods. He whole basketball life must be one in which caution is the operative word. He must not ever allow himself the luxuary of feeling like his old self, as the back will continually haunt him. All this was established last season when doctors and former bad back patients gave their views and opinions. The Rockets decided to keep Tracy even knowing all of the above and the coach must be careful to get the best out of Tracy without asking him to give the maximum. We the fans must understand this and accept it.
"Fresh Legs" is NOT mental, nor is it something you can get by getting a good night's sleep. When you're weight lifting, muscle groups can take up to a week to heal. If TMac is logging heavy minutes in games and practices, he's not getting the proper rest he needs.
Im talkin bout practice, practice man, its only practice, i mean we are talking about practice... Cracks me up
Although the Iverson/Steve McNair approach to limit practice to prevent injury or conserve energy sounds like a good idea it won't be good for TMac's rhythm. Tmac definetley is a rhythm player and especially a rhythm shooter and limiting his practice definetley won't help this at all. Practice/scrimmaging is the closest thing there is to game time situation so he has to be out there especially being out of the game as long as he was. I do agree he shouldn't fully exert himself in terms of jumping or dangerous hustle plays but then again I don't think any superstar player should take unnecessary risks in practice.
