Time for an update on the Hornets' first week of training camp. Almost everything I've been hearing so far has been good news. Here's a few quick-hitters…
Julian Wright's attitude
This kid must have heard all about Byron Scott's issues with JR Smith two years ago and is striving to be the complete opposite. This one paragraph from Jeff Duncan at NOLA.com says it all…
Wright is one of the first to arrive at workouts and one of the last to leave. He spent extra time after Wednesday's practice to work on his shooting. On Thursday, he consicuously finished every post-practice sprint or suicide ahead of the rest of the big men. At one point, he even ran an extra suicide.
Johnson and Haluska
The Hornets other rookies — Trey Johnson and Adam Haluska — appear to be battling hard and making an impression. The undrafted Johnson in particular has been standing out, prompting Byron Scott to declare him the biggest surprise in camp thus far. Haluska meanwhile, hasn't done himself any harm by arriving to camp in excellent shape and putting in extra time after workouts.
Mo-Pete's study habits
Great to hear that Morris Peterson isn't getting ready to sit back and relax now that he has a shiney new guaranteed contract. Instead, the guy seems to be studying the Hornets' playbook every chance he gets, even calling Byron Scott at night to discuss certain plays and arriving early to practice for walk-throughs. Also, dude appears eager to show there's more to his game than what he showed in Toronto the past seven years.
Chris Paul's lack of hurt
Honestly, I haven't heard much about Chris Paul's progress, but I'm guessing that's a really good sign. I'm sure if he was showing any lingering effects of that foot injury, everyone would know by now.
Gelling
It seems this team is now more of a cohesive unit compared to last season. Rasual Butler took notice…
"We're correcting each other when mistakes are made. The difference with this team from last season is that people are absorbing criticism better. Nobody is acting sensitive. Anybody can say anything to one another, and we're just taking it and trying to get better from it."
Ely pushing West
Melvin Ely knows his biggest contribution to the team this season will probably be pushing David West in practice. His words after Wednesday's practice…
"Most coaches wouldn't like for you to be banging against one of their top guys, and I'm new. But that's the reason they brought me here. By playing hard against David, it's getting him ready."
West has also been solid thus far in camp. He reported in great shape and looks set to put up impressive numbers again this season.
…and the bad news
There are couple of things which may be cause for concern, most notably Peja Stojakovic being held out of the last half hour of all three practice sessions so far this week. I'm all for limiting his involvement and not pushing him too hard to soon, but he just sounds way more fragile than I expected him to be at this point.
There's Bobby Jackson's ailments, which included some cramping on Tuesday and a hard fall on Wednesday. I love the way Bojangles plays, but who else thinks we can't count on the guy for more than 50 games this season? I forsee Jannero Pargo quickly leap-frogging Jackson in the rotation, if he hasn't done so already.
Finally, there was training camp invitee Eric Chenowith injuring his left foot at practice on Wednesday. He participated in yesterday's workout, but was limited by the flat tire. I'm doubting the big man will make the final roster anyways.