Thursday was much different for the Cleveland Cavaliers than the first two days of training camp, as they spent their third afternoon off the basketball court.
With so many amenities on the campus of IMG Academy, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson wants to take advantage.
“I was in the Olympics last year with Team France. This is like an Olympic Village,” Atkinson said of the private Bradenton, Florida institution on Wednesday. “And you guys [students] are living it, guys and girls are living this 365 [days]. So what a brilliant idea. You know, it's on par or better than a lot of pro and college sports facilities. That's why we came back. Like, it's a perfect setup.
“We've got everything here, weight room; we've got the field. We're going to the track. We're just going to run around. It's perfect in terms of prepping for an NBA season or any season, right? MLS teams come here.”
Enjoying the day outside in warm and sunny temperatures, the Cavs took to the track to focus on conditioning. Once they were done running around and tossing the football — in the spirit of the Cleveland Guardians playing a huge winner-take-all playoff game back home — the wine-and-gold hit the baseball diamond and went to the batting cages to get some swings in.
Atkinson is lasered in on the bonding part of this trip, which also included a cornhole tournament earlier this week.
“Listen, it worked out last year, right, in terms of how we got off to a start, and Florida's a great place to be,” Atkinson said. “I like this kind of old school, getting out of our facility and discovering a new place…
“We've got all these things at night, that kind of team-building stuff we can do. And then, we're in beautiful Bradenton, beautiful Sarasota area. Guys are at the pool too in the afternoon. It's great. Love it.”
On Tuesday, the team did some good work, but it wasn't overbearing. Cleveland admittedly eased into things because player-led camps gave the guys a head start anyway.
Wednesday was much more rigorous, a “long, tough practice” that concluded with a competitive scrimmage. Atkinson was pleasantly surprised by Cleveland's attention to detail and sharpness while fatigued.
But while Day 3 will not yield any observations, Lonzo Ball's addition has the Cavs talking.
“Just all his skill set combined with his size as a point guard,” Evan Mobley told a handful of reporters over the phone Thursday. “I mean, that's going to bring a different aspect to our game and passing ability, and his defensive prowess, he's just like a winner. He always makes winning plays, he's always in the right spot at the right time, and he's not afraid to shoot it either.”
“From what I've seen from Lonzo, he's a tremendous passer,” De'Andre Hunter said Tuesday. “He's just a great teammate to play with. He's one of those guys that, he's not on your team, but you see him on other teams and you're like, that's a dude I would want to play with. He's a great defender, he's active, and he can shoot the ball as well. So he's all around, and I'm excited to run a break with him for sure.”
Sam Merrill concurs with Hunter.
“He loves to pitch the ball ahead, pitch the ball across. He's always looking,” Merrill said. “He's just one of those guys that just instinctually is always gonna make the extra pass, always gonna make the right play. Who knows exactly what these units will look like, but when you have a guy like Larry (Nance Jr.) or Thomas (Bryant), who are really good screeners — along with a guy like Lonzo and the other guys we have that know how to play — that could be good for all of us.”
Atkinson credited the front office for doing the legwork to bring in Ball, Nance and Bryant, who will play a pivotal role this season.
“My challenge to them: be that guy that helps push us to the next level,” Atkinson said. “I don't look at them as ‘bit' pieces. I look at [them like] guys that can elevate us to get over the hump. I understand it's not just tactics; it's not just coaching. At the end of the day, it's personnel. So they've been great, all three of them.”
The Cavs will return to on-court work on Friday afternoon, have Saturday off, and then conclude their stay in Florida with one more practice on Sunday.
