Roy Hibbert stood up and walked off as he was asked one last question about Day 3 of Los Angeles Lakers training camp.
The team’s new 7-foot-2 center needed less than a second to spell out about what was different between this camp and those he endured with the Indiana Pacers over the first seven years of his career.
"A lot of running," he said.
Rookie guard D’Angelo Russell limped off the Stan Sheriff Center court near the end of Thursday’s 5-on-5 scrimmage with some foot soreness. The session was capped off with end-to-end sprints.
"I don’t know if Coach (Byron Scott) is feeling our pain yet," Russell said.
Scott, the second-year coach who spent 11 years as a Lakers player, appeared unmoved. So far, he’s stayed the course with the heavy cardio and two-a-days, even as the sold-out exhibitions with the Utah Jazz loom at the Sheriff on Sunday and Tuesday.
"Guys gutted it out. We had a real good, lively scrimmage," Scott said. "I’m happy with the execution in our scrimmage and the execution on both ends of the floor. Really it was just good to see how guys were getting after each other."
The Jazz have practiced back in Salt Lake City and don’t arrive in Hawaii until Saturday.
Scott has said earlier in camp he’s comfortable with four players snagging the rebound and initiating a fast break themselves: Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell, Kobe Bryant and versatile big man Julius Randle.
That could be four-fifths of the starting lineup on a given night.
Last season, the Lakers ranked 14th of 30 teams in the NBA in pace — their number of possessions per 48 minutes.
That middle-of-the-pack figure could jump significantly with the new-look backcourt and Bryant shifted to small forward.
"This is for sure the toughest (camp) I’ve been a part of," said 10-year guard Lou Williams, like Hibbert in his first season with the Lakers. "Especially at this point in my career, being a veteran guy, this is definitely one of the tougher ones.
LAKERS VS. JAZZ PRESEASON At Stan Sheriff Center >> Sunday: 3 p.m. >> Tuesday: 6 p.m. |
"Just the grind. Coach Scott has a way of doing his own thing and we’ve been running and getting in shape and just constantly running."
Clarkson, a second-year point guard, took his opportunities and ran with them Wednesday. He was a menace in the open court, picking unsuspecting players’ pockets for several easy baskets.
After one fast-break dunk, he stole the ball from an inattentive player and took it right back to the hole and got fouled.
Clarkson (11.9 points, 3.5 assists in 2014-15) claimed the starting point guard job last season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie team. When Russell was drafted, speculation abounded about Clarkson’s role.
It was only one day, but Wednesday Clarkson looked poised to thrive in an up-tempo Lakers system.
"I mean, it’s just night and day from last year at this time to this year," Scott said. He’s 110 percent better in every aspect of the game. … His confidence, his game. His pace is much better. His understanding of the game, it’s slowed down for him. He sees things a lot better. But his confidence. He had the ability, it was just he was going 150 miles an hour then. But now he uses his speed when he has to. I think that’s the difference."
As for Russell, his injury didn’t appear serious. Scott said he expected him to rejoin the action today.
With Bryant still a partial participant as he works his way back from a rotator cuff injury, the veteran Williams is looking forward to the younger generation taking charge in the preseason.
"Very impressed by the way they’ve taken this team by the horns, just leading everybody, making sure guys are getting in the right spots," Williams said. "To be so young and to be ready for the responsibility, I’ve been really impressed. I look forward to seeing them out there in some live action on Sunday just to see how they put it together."