/ laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"
Tweet
Was walking out and instantly recognized him. Very cool guy, had no problem letting us grab a pic and a quick chat. Apparently Al Harrington lives in Vegas? He said a lot of guys train @ Impact in the off season. Anyway, that's it, back to the tables!
-
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
JO who?
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
Wynn what?And I won't be here to see the day
It all dries up and blows away
I'd hang around just to see
But they never had much use for me
In Levelland. (James McMurtry)Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
Vegas. Where?"Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." โKevin Pritchard press conference
Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
The Wynn is really nice. Only been there once but I liked it.This space for rent.Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
I've never stayed there, but I usually go to Wynn at least once per trip to eat. Very tasty food there.Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
LOVE Wynn. It's my hangout when I'm in Vegas...which is in 87 days....not that I'm counting.
Hadn't heard of Impact. Check out their site.
Also, found an article of interest (highlights by me);
With so much roster shuffling taking place this summer, the topic of chemistry has come up quite a bit. How well a team gels, both on and off the court, often determines just how successful they can be.
Many fans believe that players are assembled over the summer, put into a locker room once the season starts, and just expected to mesh. But in reality, most players spend the summer training or playing pickup ball together and the idea that teams enter the season completely unfamiliar with each other isn't accurate. To help explain things, we turned to chemistry extraordinaire Jared Dudley of the Phoenix Suns. Not only does Dudley bring his team together during the season, he sees just how important the offseason is for building relationships while he trains at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas.
"[Fans] can't realize it to that extent," said Dudley, because of the closed door policy most trainers have. "Some fans are more educated than others obviously but [most don't realize] there are many workout spots that people train at like in Chicago with [Tim] Grover, at Impact, or with their own personal trainers."
The pickup games at some of these training sites often resemble mini All-Star games. On any given day, players such as Chauncey Billups, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Tyreke Evans, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Rudy Gay and many others assemble at Impact, split into teams, and run.
In recent weeks, some have questioned how new acquisitions will fit with their new teams. One such case is Al Harrington and the Denver Nuggets. But what people don't realize is that Harrington already has chemistry with many of his new teammates from playing pickup games at Impact over the last few years. While it's obviously not the exact NBA game experience, it does allow players to get on the same page and develop relationships.
"When you see a guy like Al Harrington pick the Nuggets, it's easy [to see why]. Dahntay Jones was here, who was an ex-Nugget, J.R. Smith was here, and of course you have Chauncey Billups here. One year we had like the whole Golden State roster here with [Corey] Maggette, [Kelenna] Azubuike, and Marcus Williams. It's no coincidence that these players sign with these teams," said Dudley.
In fact, some players have even joined teams simply because of the relationships that they've built with their would-be teammates over the summer.
"That's why 'Birdman' [Chris Anderson] signed with the Nuggets that one year," said Dudley with a laugh. "He was here working out with Chauncey and a lot of the Nuggets players and you could just see the chemistry."
While some players join new teams without first building relationships, it's common for guys to know each other from team to team.
"With guys in the NBA, ninety-percent of us are friends. What I mean by friends is we respect each other or might even hang out. People get traded so much in the NBA, you become accustomed to being friends," said Dudley.
Rather than working out with the same trainers, some teams get together for extended bonding sessions. The Minnesota Timberwolves did this earlier in the offseason and the Orlando Magic are currently holding their "Building Magic" week to get everyone on the same page.
With so much talk about chemistry and newly assembled teams coming together, it's important to understand that players bond and form relationships behind the scenes. Each team must still adjust and get used to the new faces but for the most part, there's a good chance your favorite players have already connected at some point in their careers.
Hey! What're you kicking me for? You want me to ask? All right, I'll ask! Ma'am, where do the high school girls hang out in this town?Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
I'm going to Vegas September 10th for week 1 of the NFL season...staying at The Palms. Anyone stayed there? This is my first time going, don't really know what to expect.Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
We ate at Botero, if you haven't tried that one yet I'd recommend it. I thought one of the guys with me was kidding, but come to think of it I think he was right when he said he saw one of the Kardashians there. I don't watch any of those reality shows so I couldn't tell her apart from anyone else off the street. But, looked up who they are online and it did look like one of those girls for sure.Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
I was the the Palms about 7 years ago during the NCAA tourney and ran into Joe & Gavin Maloof (owners of the Kings) as they were taping a feature for NBA on TNT, I think. Anyway, they were with Jim Gray and they filmed me talking to the Maloof brothers for a few minutes. Long story short, the Pacers were playing the Kings in 3 days back in Indy and I was flying home before the game and I asked if they were attending or if they wanted to grab a drink before the game? They said no and would have loved to, but did take care of some tickets for me.
But yes, Al lives in Vegas during the off-season and has lived there for several years. Vegas is popular for a lot of NBA players because the cost of living is reasonable, the weather is always warm, there's obviously a lot going on and there's no state income tax either. Plus, you can usually find a pretty good game or two. Other popular places during the summer include Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.Comment
-
Re: Just met JO @ the Wynn
Dahntay Jones also lives in Vegas during the offseason (he's Al Harrington's cousin).Comment
Comment