Claxton working into game shape

[sturt]

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Claxton's knees iced as precaution

Hawks point guard Speedy Claxton spent the first 45 minutes of practice on the floor and then retired to the locker room to have his knees iced as a precaution, Woodson said.

Claxton, who missed all but the final week of training camp and the exhibition season recovering from a broken finger on his left hand, is still working his way into game shape.

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Someone wanna explain to the rest of us how an injured finger prevents one from getting into "game shape?" What is it about one finger that prevents a player from doing what everyone else does to get into game shape (just, without dribbling or shooting)... like, say, running... ???

[Sothron]

I agree, no excuse for not running on the treadmill or getting on the bike just to keep your game legs up.

[Lrenfro]

When he runs it causes movement in his hand which in turn creates a minor discomfort. This is a distraction and he can no longer concentrate on running thus not getting the full benefit of running. Until he could get the full benefit of running he could not get in to game shape. You have to give the man a break; he was at home and could not use his finger to control the remote he had to totally rely on voice commands for all the electronic devices in his home.

[jerrywest]

Every game has there own kind of game shape and its much more important in the top level.

Muscle memory fades with time. I play a lot of soccer and although I am in great shape for soccer, when I try to play basketball, I get tired easily and can't do a lot things that I used to do.

Practicing one sports can help you stay in shape, but not in game shape. Definitely not in shape to play agains professional NBA players. Show me an NBA player that has ever come back in game shape after any injury. It just takes time. Only very smart players can cover up what they are missing.

I hope Speedy's knees are OK. I hope its not a sign of something on the horizon.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Because running sprints and playing 1/2 speed in practice, isn't the same as running in an actual game.

And "game shape" not only refers to his physical stamina, it also refers to how he approaches the game mentally. Mentally, he may not be 100% comfortable with his shot or ball handling. He can definitely play, but he may not go in a game with reckless abandon, like he's done in the past.

As far as his knees go, Speedy probably spent about 3 weeks of his rehab on a treadmill or on a bicycle, until he was actually cleared to practice. So in actuality, Speedy conditioning and mental state is closer to him being in Week 2 of Preseason, instead of Week 2 of the regular season.

He'll be just fine by Thanksgiving.

[Popeye]

Where do you play soccer/?

Is it a league or just for fun??

[jerrywest]

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Where do you play soccer/?

Is it a league or just for fun??

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Both.

[HAWKEYE]

Hopefully, I pray, another injury to another part of his body will not occur any game now.

[Johnnybravo4]

The key is that he should have been in shape before training camp so that his four week absence shouldn't have made much of a difference. He wouldn't lose much cardiovascular ability in that short amount of time.

[AHF]

Quote:

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Quote:

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Where do you play soccer/?

Is it a league or just for fun??

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Both.

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I play at Mercer and at the Silverbacks.

[thesheedera]

Your body uses ranges of motion and muscles playing basketball that you can't easily duplicate with any kind of exercise. I completely agree with the frustration of watching a guy struggle to catch his wind though, it does seem logical that "good shape" is "good shape", but maybe not.

For example, I played basketball over the weekend for the first time in months. I've been running regularly in the meantime, but my body is all kinds of sore and beat up. Running, stopping, jumping, backpeddling, crouching over, stretching for a loose ball...its a whole myriad of activities that you can't replace easily with being able to use your hands.

And the fact that he's on a new team, doesn't know his teammates that well, could be another source of fatigue. A lot of wasted mental and physical energy if he doesn't instinctually know where to be and when.

But honestly, I get frustrated hearing it still, not in "game shape"...oh well.

If Speedy's struggling like this, it could be real ugly when Marv first comes back.

[Popeye]

ATlanta Silverbacks???

I play for FcLjiljan i adasl first divison.