We’ve all heard the story by now. Shawn Kemp, the super-athletic, high-flying amazing athlete, came into training camp grossly overweight after the 1999 lockout ended because, well, he just didn’t think it was going to end. And once he was fat, he stayed fat.
So that’s the standard. NBA Lockout = fat players. It’s indisputable math. Complacent millionaires without coaches pushing them to stay in shape will undoubtedly and indisputably pack on the L-B’s as their version of shuttle drills have them running from buffet to buffet.
After an extended offseason of honing his body, Kevin Love will no longer qualify for the “beefy” category.
Minnesota’s 6-9 power forward will enter training camp on Dec. 9 weighing in at 240 pounds, down about 25 from his playing weight at the end of last season.
“Haven’t been this low since my freshman year in high school,” quips Love, 23, the former Lake Oswego High standout.
Well, there’s always an exception to the rule.
[Andrew Bynum] lost 10 pounds to take a load off his knees while losing more body fat than Kevin Durant even carries. He strengthened his core and the muscles all around his knees, so critical for him to improve his base and make powerful moves when so weak in those knees. He ditched all the insecurities over sub-par conditioning and poor lateral movement that led him to rush things and get out of sync with his team.
He focused on developing quicker moves (drop steps, spin moves, one-dribble jump hooks, even the Dream Shake) and locked in on free throws, too.
OK, two exceptions.
As NBA players started to trickle in to the first day of post-lockout, informal training camp, it’s starting to look like the ghost of Shawn Kemps past has put a good scare into them.
Love’s 240 svelte pounds will still allow him to take the pounding down low that a maniacal rebounder always takes. But it will also allow him to be a little quicker. Love is working on extending his range, so a quicker first step will help him get by some big men and maybe draw a few fouls in the process. Added quickness will also help him get into rebounding position a little better and, *gasp*, maybe grab an extra board or two.
The same goes for Bynum, who, with an expanded offensive game, would be even scarier. Bynum is the second best big man in the league, and his post-All Star performance last season rivaled Dwight Howard’s production. By becoming lighter and quicker, Bynum has a chance to not only elevate his game, he can stay healthy enough for that game to matter.
For Bynum, physical and mental health are the keys to him becoming a dominant big man. And if both he and Love have spent this extended offseason improving their already scary abilities, then watch out.
