NBA training camp usually comes after a full summer of activity including summer league ball for the rookies, optional workouts and pickup games plus a whole month of players slowly trickling into town and working out together.
This year there was no build up, it’s definitely not summer time and there were no offseason activities. That becomes particularly difficult when trying to get the rookies up to speed, so Udoka Azubuike and Elijah Hughes are experiencing an expedited learning process as they settle in with the Utah Jazz.
“There’s a little more preparation that has to go into that,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. “So we’re trying to find a balance.”
On top of everything else, the Jazz have to deal with the fact that they have two players — Mike Conley being one of them — that are not able to practice because of COVID-19 protocols. Snyder doesn’t want to introduce new concepts to players who are unfamiliar with the team’s system when there are key players missing.
So Azubuike and Hughes are trying to do their best, acting as sponges and soaking up everything they possibly can in the short time they have between now and when the season begins.
“A little more challenging for guys like us just coming straight from college,” Azubuike said on Sunday via Zoom. “You know, we didn’t go to play summer league ball or nothing, we kind of just jump in and before you know the season is going to start so it’s a little different.”
“The beauty of this team is there’s so many great vets, people I can just lean on and talk to.” — Jazz rookie Elijah Hughes
It’s not just the Jazz’s system, team-specific terminology, NBA terminology and new teammates that the rookies have to get used to. The rookies are also dealing with different court dimensions, more physicality and a higher tempo game than they’re used to.
Hughes is feeling fortunate that the Jazz are a playoff contending team that is full of NBA veterans to help during this transitional time.
“The beauty of this team is there’s so many great vets, people I can just lean on and talk to,” Hughes said, specifically naming Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, and Bojan Bogdanovic. “They also help me not look bad in practice so it’s good to have them around.”
In order to feel like they’re not falling behind or that they’re starting from a disadvantaged place Hughes said they younger players, himself included, have to allow themselves to give into their curiosity and not be afraid to ask questions.
With Jazz less than a week away from their first preseason game and less than three weeks away from opening up the season on Dec. 23 in Portland, there’s a lot to be accomplished in a short amount of time.
Both Azubuike and Hughes are feeling confident about their ability to pick up things quickly and learn on the fly, but Azubuike said there’s one thing that could be particularly difficult to prepare for — the NBA schedule.
“We’re not in college anymore and in college you play a limited amount of games,” he said. “In the NBA you play a lot of games, so for me getting my body right.”
That could end up being the biggest challenge these rookies face. Not only are they facing a season with very little time to prepare for, but this week is the first time they’ll have been on a court with a team since March and the NBA season will be even more tiresome as the league attempts to squeeze 72 games in, starting in late December.
“We’re just trying to get into as much of a flow as you possibly can so we’re not lagging behind,” Hughes said.
The good news is that the Jazz are not unique in dealing with time constraints, the whole league is learning as they go.