Notes on Real Training Camp with the Knicks

Good afternoon! NBA TV's Real Training Camp with the Knicks wrapped up a little while ago. My TV guide thing says it'll be on again at 3 PM, but if you were and are unable to catch it, here's my log of the day's events:

11:00- Patrick Ewing's in the house, joining Rick Kamla as one of the show's hosts.

11:14- While the Knicks stretch in the background, Tina Cervasio sits down with Pat and Kamla to preview the season.

11:16- Ewing on the 2012 Olympic team's chances of beating the original Dream Team, because this is apparently still a discussion: "No way in hell." Kamla: "No way in heck". Ewing: "No way in heck."

11:18- The broadcast cuts to a mic'd up Mike Woodson, who...refuses to speak.

11:19- Amar'e's back on the court with his teammates and first seen doing some high leg kicks. J.R. Smith is back as well. Steve Novak is taking a rest day, and still no Marcus Camby or Ronnie Brewer.

11:22- Herb Williams is wearing his "NUEVA YORK" t-shirt, presumably to celebrate the birthday of Jose Miguel Carrera.

11:24- Woodson is running with his team. I wrote "springs" in my notes, which probably meant "sprints", but they definitely weren't sprints. Idiot.

11:25-11:31- I was very focused on the leftover gnocchi I was eating, but I think the Knicks were running three-man breaks.

11:31- More three-man stuff, including some quick pick-and-rolls in transition and set-ups for corner threes. J.R. Smith is wearing sweats, by the way.

11:34- Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, and Kurt Thomas practice one of those delightful 1-5 pick-and-rolls with Kurt popping out to the elbow.

11:35- Five-man breaks now, including a bunch designed to set Amar'e up in the mid-range and in the post.

11:45- Two-on-two fast break drills, with the two defenders waiting in the paint for the other two guys dribbling full court.

11:53- Allan Houston sits in with the hosts. Patrick Ewing, watching tape of Houston's famous playoff game-winner against the Heat, remarks "I was asking for it, but he did the right thing."

11:54- Melo, Ray, and Amar'e practice free throws with Dave Hopla.

12:00- Iman Shumpert is shown standing on one foot, sort of squatting a basketball while a staff member films him with one of those fancy little science cameras they have. It looks difficult.

12:00- Rasheed Wallace, who did not scrimmage, is seen doing similar exercises with Dave Hancock.

12:03- The guys start running some choppy five-on-five with Woodson stepping on to the floor to participate and move the ball around the perimeter while the defense reacts. Woodson spends a while lecturing about how to hedge a screen properly and how the "nail guy" has to assume coverage of the penetrating guard.

12:07- No way Mike Woodson's jumper was that flouncy and goofy-looking when he was a player.

12:12- Baron Davis is in the house! He's in sweats and might even have his own whistle. He'll be shown riding one of the stationary bikes later on.

12:19- J.R. Smith throws a backward bounce pass between his legs. It gets stolen.

12:21- J.R. Smith sinks a gorgeous free throw line jumper off a right-to-left spin move.

12:24- Glen Grunwald sits in for an interview, and gives the same answers you've heard for the last few weeks. His stool-sitting style and overall manner makes me want to plop an acoustic guitar in his lap.

12:32- Woodson's going through a scheme for defending the pick-and-roll that seems to be called "Green".

12:35- Henry Sims has a rough landing and hobbles off the floor in a lot of pain. They'll call it a sprained right foot later on. Might be pretty bad.

12:39- Woodson's pretty bossy, even with his assistant coaches. He's heard yelling to Herb and LaSalle Thompson and instructing them where to stand during scrimmages.

12:40- Woodson's dialogue keeps cutting out. I keep thinking something's wrong with my TV, then remember we're on tape delay and realize he's probably cursing a lot. He's really angry at the blue team (first unit, including Mychel Thompson, plus Oscar Bellfield and James White off the bench) for not talking on defense.

12:41- He even gets angry at a dry-erase clipboard for being difficult to erase. He hands it off to Roger Hinds in a huff, and Hinds looks like he's having trouble erasing the damn thing, too.

12:45- The white team-- J.R., Pablo Prigioni, Kurt Thomas, Chris Copeland, and John Shurna-- is just pasting blue. They're up 17-2 at one point. CAN AMAR'E AND MELO EVER WORK?

12:48- Amar'e's actually off the floor now, riding a bike during his break from the scrimmage.

12:52- While fawning over this relatively new training facility, Ewing calls SUNY Purchase "a college in New Jersey". I know what he's getting at (the Knicks held camp at Upsala College in East Orange for one year before moving to Purchase), but still...the guy's having a rough go of it on camera.

12:59- Mike Woodson sits down with the hosts, welcomes them to practice, proclaims "he's not trying to hide anything" while the beat reporters in the building guffaw themselves to death.

1:00- Woodson reiterates that Iman Shumpert will be called "rook" until he's played a full season.

1:07- Melo sits in and Kamla asks him if he's in the "best shape of his life", acknowledging that that's a bit of a cliche. Melo pauses, perhaps to reflect on some of his best bikini bods of the '90s, and says "...I'm in great shape".

1:16- Amar'e sits in with both knees wrapped in ice, but says his bone bruise is "completely gone". Al Iannazzone reports that Stoudemire will play on Friday.

And those were pretty much all the things I observed. We didn't really get to see much of scrimmages because the cameras cut in and out so much, but it looked like the usual light-hearted but taxing Woodson practice. Good timez.