Connor Letourneau: Steve Kerr on the Pelicans getting the No. 1 pick: “It should make for an interesting summer.”
Connor Letourneau: Steve Kerr on the Pelicans getting t…
May 30, 2023 | 7:35 pm EDT Update
Tyler Herro on return: I'm going to be working out multiple times everyday until I come back
Within the past week, Herro was cleared to shoot and dribble with the surgically repaired hand. But he hasn’t yet participated in a contact practice. “I’m going to be working out every day, twice, two, three times a day from here until the day I hopefully come back,” said Herro, who is traveling with the team. “So I’m always going to continue to work hard and see how my body responds day by day and try to come back as soon as possible.”
“I’ve never once missed it,” Atlanta Hawks star Dejounte Murray says. “That explains my professionalism, my attention to detail. I gotta have it. Every game day, gotta be the same. Whether at home or on the road.” Says Toronto Raptors veteran Chris Boucher: “It’s just to make sure that I’m in the right state of mind. It makes you feel good. I never miss sleep.” The thing is, NBA players almost have to be good at day-sleeping, because their schedules are profoundly abnormal. It’s easy to forget that they work nights, with most games starting at 7:30 and finishing around 10 p.m. They might not get home, or to the hotel, until midnight—or possibly 2 or 3 a.m., if the team flew immediately after the game. And of course there are, uh, lifestyle factors in play, too. Pro athletes are known to enjoy the nightlife—yet even for those that don’t, it can be a challenge to wind down after spending two to three hours hopped up on adrenaline. And because most teams hold a morning shootaround—sometime between 9-11 a.m.—they can’t just sleep in on game days.
“I’m a vampire—I like it dark, completely dark,” says Charlotte Hornets veteran Kelly Oubre Jr., who calls his napping routine “serious. I need my nap, for sure.”
“Pitch black,” affirms Wendell Carter Jr. of the Orlando Magic, who, after realizing the sun directly hit his bedroom during the midday period when he normally snoozes, invested in blackout curtains for his home. He also takes advantage of the nap rooms at the Magic’s practice facility, which feature comfy couches and appropriate darkness.
Toronto Raptors center Chris Boucher says he’s often so tired that nothing else in his surroundings matters. “When I fall asleep, I don’t even know what’s going on—firefighters could come in my house, and I won’t hear it.” Closed eyelids provide enough, he says. “When I sleep, it’s dark anyway. I don’t dream about much.” For the most refined nappers, room temperature is also key.
Damian Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers star, says preparing for the nap is almost as important as the nap itself. Following shootaround, Lillard will get treatment for his sore body, spending time in a cold tub and following that up with a shower. Then he heads home for lunch, followed by some quality shut-eye. “When I wake up, you feel really calm,” he says. And when he doesn’t nap? “I can’t relax the same” when the ball goes up. “It’s the deep nap that allows you to just kind of be in that relaxed state.”
Mark Berman: NBA source: Guard Jamal Shead will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft and play for @UHCougarMBK during the 2023-24 season.
Golden State Warriors PR: Warriors President of Basketball Operations / General Manager Bob Myers will step down from his role at the conclusion of his contract. pic.twitter.com/IRmIiuGYcB
