Oct 9, 2004
Rick Adelman sat down with Kings.com after Thursday training camp practice to talk about the preseason and a variety of other things. Here's what he had to say:
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Kings.com: How was it getting Chris back for practice today?
Adelman: “Everytime we get more of those people out it helps us a lot, because those are the people that are going to play. You get a lot more done cause you get the people that are going to play in the games. The attitude was really good today, they played with a little more concentration and intensity today than yesterday.”
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Kings.com: Did Chris sit out any part of practice?
Adelman: “He didn’t sit out anything, he did every drill and everything we did he went through. We’ll see how he reacts tomorrow.”
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Kings.com: Do these injuries start to take a toll on your practices?
Adelman: “I think it did yesterday, because we had Greg out and Chris out and Doug out, and Darius had something he had to do and leave early, so when you have four of your top-eight guys aren’t here, you’re dealing with guys who are unsure of what they are doing. That gets a little frustrating, but you still have to work with the other guys, the free agents and young guys, because you have to find out what they can do. Having Chris and Darius here today really helped out the continuity of practice.
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Kings.com: When you watch these workouts, what are you looking for?
Adelman: “A lot of times, we’ve gone through so many things at that point that you’re just trying to observe and evaluating other players. You know that you’re going to get to look at tape later to check out the things what you want to see. Basically you just trying to observe and see if you’re coming along, and today we really did. We made some nice plays today in the scrimmage. We added some things yesterday and we wanted to see how they would work out too.”
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Kings.com: Do you focus on certain players or plays?
Adelman:“Not on certain plays, because we’ve pretty much run all our stuff. As you know, we don’t call a lot of plays, a lot of it is reads a lot of it is you get into a set and then you play out of it, depending on what the defense does. I really try to concentrate on the players. Like who you have with the starters. I’ve been rotating Ricky and Kevin and all the young guys, trying to get an idea how they play with those guys and what are their strengths that we can get out of this offense. That’s what I kind of observe.”
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Kings.com: Is your mind made up already on who is going to make the roster?
Adelman: “I wouldn’t say it is made up. I think we like a lot of the people and I would say that we have a pretty good idea of most of the squad, but again, you have to keep evaluating, you got to watch these guys in games, because look what’s happened this week. You get guys injured and you have to put guys on the injured list to start the season you have to have your mind made up as to who is gonna be there and who’s going to help you win.”
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Kings.com: Do you think all the injuries can be attributed to offseason workouts or anything else?
Adelman: “I think it’s just the way it is, you’re going to always have aches and pains, but having Doug and Greg out completely, that usually doesn’t happen—having to guys go out at the start of camp and miss it completely. Sometimes you have one or two guys nicked up, and then all of a sudden you have three of four guys out.”
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Kings.com: Is your mind made up already on who is going to make the roster?
Adelman: “I wouldn’t say it is made up. I think we like a lot of the people and I would say that we have a pretty good idea of most of the squad, but again, you have to keep evaluating, you got to watch these guys in games, because look what’s happened this week. You get guys injured and you have to put guys on the injured list to start the season you have to have your mind made up as to who is gonna be there and who’s going to help you win.”
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Kings.com: Has any camp invitee surprised you at all?
Adelman: “I don’t think I’ve been surprised. It’s been a good camp in that we have lot of guys in this group that have competed well. I don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t—especially our perimeter guys. We have a lot of skilled perimeter guys who bring something different. So if I’m surprised, I’m pleasantly surprised at all the people that are pushing the veterans, they really get after them. I think that’s been a real plus for us—our two rookies, Kevin and Ricky, have really played well. I think they’re going to be solid NBA players. It’s two good finds for us with those guys, they’ve been working hard and learning, and that’s the attitude they have to have. It’s not going to be there when day one starts, but they definitely have the chance to be good players.
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Kings.com: What are your thoughts on traveling to China?
Adelman: “Like I said to the team this week, it’s what it is. Some teams are picked to do this and the reason we’re picked is because of who we are. We have a team that is very exciting to watch, it’s well known, I think, around the world, and so it is a compliment for them to pick us to go over and play. I think that’s how we have to think. If I had my choice though, I’d stay home—we do too much traveling and I don’t want to travel 15 hours there and back, and then you try and get your team ready and you’ve lost a week. But again, it’s what it is and I think you have to accept it as a positive.”