A look at the NBA playoffs this weekend shows what mental preparation and conditioning is going on behind the scenes as teams look to find or maintain an emotional edge.
Boston Celtics
“I love our team. We do some things that are a little nuts, but they have a way to play together and they trust each other and as a coach; that’s all you can ask for.”
--Doc Rivers, head coach of the Boston Celtics, after beating the New York Knicks and sweeping the opening round series with their Eastern Conference rivals, 4-0.
Despite a subpar regular season, the Boston Celtics are moving forward to the second round in the NBA playoffs.
New Orleans Hornets
The day before their fourth playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the New Orleans Hornets, down 2 games to 1 in the series, watched a YouTube video, shot at Kruger National Park in South Africa, of a cape buffalo calf being attacked by lions, who dragged it near a water hole where a crocodile joined the assault. Later in the video, dozens of cape buffaloes appear a few minutes into the attack, encircle the lions and rescue the calf.
The “Battle at Kruger” clip was the idea 0f the Hornets’ assistant coach, Mike Malone, to show how a team could overcome adversity and a ferocious opponent to win.
The Hornets were in need of a motivational lift as they attempted to recover following a second consecutive beating and being out-rebounded for the third time in the series, despite having won game one.
“The lions obviously had the advantage, but the cape buffalos are pretty tough when they stick together,” Malone said.
The teams are now deadlocked at two games a piece in the best of seven opening round series.
Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers: In the Zone
“I’ve been in some pretty good zones before. But nothing like tonight.”
--Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers' star, a three-time All-Star, helped his time by scoring 24 points off the bench, 18 in the fourth quarter, as the Blazers erased a 23-point deficit. Portland defeated the Dallas Mavericks,, 84-82 to tie the opening round series at 2-2.
Roy had played this year in a diminished role after knee surgery. Despite having difficulty finding a successful role on this team, Roy came off the bench to provide a huge lift to a team that was trailing 67-44 in the third quarter.
Portland became the third N.B.A. team in the shot-clock era to win a playoff game when trailing by 18 points or more heading into the fourth quarter.
San Antonio Spurs
"We've got to get a lot better at executing our game plan and being more consistent. We've made a lot of mental mistakes. A lot of the things we saw on the film are easily fixable if we go out there with a little better focus."
--Tim Duncan, veteran San Antonio Spurs' great, who responded to questions following an upset loss.
The Spurs gained the No. 1 seed in the NBA Western Conference during an impressive regular season. However, the Spurs are down 2-1 to the Memphis Grizzlies in their opening series after a 91-88 loss Saturday night, and will be in for a mighty upset if the Grizzlies win the series and become only the fourth No. 8 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed.
What can you and your team learn as the NBA playoffs unfold? The importance of:
- Trust
- Team Cohesion
- Consistency
- Planning
- Focus
- Execution
- The Zone
Excerpts taken from the New York Times (www.nytimes.com) April 25, 2011.
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