Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, October 14
Updated: October 14
10:25 AM ET
Denver Nuggets: After six days a week of seven-hour workouts, Nikoloz Tskitishvili is making sure no one's taking his lunch money this season. "He got addicted," Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess said in the Rocky Mountain News. "He's got a great work ethic anyway, but it got to the point where I'd be like, 'All right, Skita, that's enough.' He is more mentally tough than I could have imagined. Some of the workouts are absolutely grueling." As a result, the 214-pound small forward is now a 243-pound power forward without adding more than 1 percent body fat. "These are not normal numbers," Hess said. "I've been in the NBA eight years, and this is the first time I've seen anyone improve that much and keep his speed and agility."
O'Neal
Los Angeles Lakers: The Los Angeles Times is reporting that because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Lakers can only offer Shaquille O'Neal a two-year extension on his current contract rather than the expected three. Either way, the paper reports that O'Neal would eventually become the highest paid player in the game with the extension worth, at most, $70 million. "There's no doubt this is the most talented, aggressive big guy who's played a basketball game," Coach Phil Jackson said. "For him to have any letdown is going to be either through motivation or he's not kept himself in the kind of condition he has to in the off-season, hasn't taken it that seriously. And injury, to his legs, knees, toe, whatever. That's an important factor for the big guys. But, we watched David Robinson [play nearly to 40] and you look at [Kevin] Willis. They still can play basketball. The big guys can play basketball in their late 30s. There's no reason Shaq shouldn't be a real good player in his! late 30s if he still has an appetite for the game." O'Neal's age was the determining factor in the length of the extension.
New York Knicks: The Knicks offense has been so bad lately that Allan Houston is willing to return to the floor whether he's healthy or not. "It's a lot tougher sitting out when you see everybody struggling," Houston said in the NY Daily News. "I think we just need some chemistry right now. People are still trying to get a feel for their own games. We have to get a feel for what everyone's role is as a unit." Houston is expected to practice for the first time on Thursday and play in Fridays preseason game against the Spurs.
Houston Rockets: Former Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, a recent cancer survivor, returned to the Toyota Center to take a look at his old team and says that he's feeling fine after quitting smoking and eating better. "I've been up against some things in my life, and here was another one," Tomjanovich said in the Houston Chronicle. "And it was major, just like the other ones were major. I trusted in God and trusted in people, too. The thing I feel is what a fortunate person I am to have so many good, close, loving friends. I never felt alone in this fight, never alone. That's really big."
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, October 14
Updated: October 14
10:25 AM ET
Denver Nuggets: After six days a week of seven-hour workouts, Nikoloz Tskitishvili is making sure no one's taking his lunch money this season. "He got addicted," Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess said in the Rocky Mountain News. "He's got a great work ethic anyway, but it got to the point where I'd be like, 'All right, Skita, that's enough.' He is more mentally tough than I could have imagined. Some of the workouts are absolutely grueling." As a result, the 214-pound small forward is now a 243-pound power forward without adding more than 1 percent body fat. "These are not normal numbers," Hess said. "I've been in the NBA eight years, and this is the first time I've seen anyone improve that much and keep his speed and agility."
O'Neal
Los Angeles Lakers: The Los Angeles Times is reporting that because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Lakers can only offer Shaquille O'Neal a two-year extension on his current contract rather than the expected three. Either way, the paper reports that O'Neal would eventually become the highest paid player in the game with the extension worth, at most, $70 million. "There's no doubt this is the most talented, aggressive big guy who's played a basketball game," Coach Phil Jackson said. "For him to have any letdown is going to be either through motivation or he's not kept himself in the kind of condition he has to in the off-season, hasn't taken it that seriously. And injury, to his legs, knees, toe, whatever. That's an important factor for the big guys. But, we watched David Robinson [play nearly to 40] and you look at [Kevin] Willis. They still can play basketball. The big guys can play basketball in their late 30s. There's no reason Shaq shouldn't be a real good player in his! late 30s if he still has an appetite for the game." O'Neal's age was the determining factor in the length of the extension.
New York Knicks: The Knicks offense has been so bad lately that Allan Houston is willing to return to the floor whether he's healthy or not. "It's a lot tougher sitting out when you see everybody struggling," Houston said in the NY Daily News. "I think we just need some chemistry right now. People are still trying to get a feel for their own games. We have to get a feel for what everyone's role is as a unit." Houston is expected to practice for the first time on Thursday and play in Fridays preseason game against the Spurs.
Houston Rockets: Former Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, a recent cancer survivor, returned to the Toyota Center to take a look at his old team and says that he's feeling fine after quitting smoking and eating better. "I've been up against some things in my life, and here was another one," Tomjanovich said in the Houston Chronicle. "And it was major, just like the other ones were major. I trusted in God and trusted in people, too. The thing I feel is what a fortunate person I am to have so many good, close, loving friends. I never felt alone in this fight, never alone. That's really big."
