JALEN GREEN HEARS the wrath from the old man with the unmistakable, raspy voice.
It’s a little less than an hour before the Rockets’ shootaround begins, but almost half the roster is already on the Footprint Center floor in Phoenix, running three-man pick-and-roll drills.
John Lucas, the Rockets’ 68-year-old assistant coach, provides running commentary throughout the workout, usually while standing on the baseline. Green, the Houston Rockets’ prized rookie shooting guard drafted No. 2 overall, is Lucas’ primary target. Green had just picked up his dribble near the free throw line and nonchalantly scooped a lefty lob pass when Lucas peppers his 19-year-old pupil.
“That’s too f—ing sloppy!” Lucas hollers. “This ain’t high school! You can’t throw s— like that!”
Lucas shuffles into the middle of the lane, hands up high like a center defending the play. He declares how easy it’d be for an opposing big man to break up that pass, adding another turnover to the rebuilding Rockets’ league-leading total.
John Wall — the maximum-salaried, All-Star point guard mothballed as the Rockets rebuild around the backcourt of No. 2 overall pick Green and 21-year-old Kevin Porter Jr. — quietly instructs Green to penetrate to the dotted line, putting himself in position to make a read based on how the opposing center reacts. Wall joined the drills after wrapping up an hour-long workout with Lucas, part of his efforts to stay sharp in hopes that Houston finds a trade destination for him.
Seconds later, Green executes as he was told, throwing a pass that Lucas praises: “There you go!”
Welcome to today’s class at “John Lucas University,” as general manager Rafael Stone refers to the Rockets’ developmental program for the several college-aged players on their roster. The drills vary by the day, but Lucas is always ratcheting up the intensity, putting the players in competitive situations, including full-court one-on-one contests.
Lucas’ hard-nosed tactics and colorful commentary — pushing,…
Source : espn
