Nets ready to up performance
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said the biggest key in the NBA is getting players to buy in. Look at the reshaped bodies and listen to the gushing praise and it’s clear the Nets have bought into the new performance staff monitoring everything from Jeremy Lin’s sleep to Brook Lopez’s Slurpees.
“I’ve never seen an organization care for their players holistically, from a 24/7 standpoint, versus when we’re on the court or when we’re practicing or at the arena,’’ Lin said. “It’s all-encompassing … like the way you sleep or little stuff like how you set up your bedroom and how it impacts your sleep.
“All of that impacts your performance as an athlete. … They’re really trying to do things right, to establish culture not just from when you step on the floor.”
Establishing that culture — especially on a team that won just 21 games last season — means improving not just strength, but agility and mobility, and monitoring everything from sleep patterns to diet.
“The No. 1 thing is buy in. That’s the biggest thing in the NBA, [if] you get them to buy in, and the performance team has gotten buy in,’’ Atkinson said. “The players enjoy being in the weight room. … Out here on the court [working on] agility, mobility. That’s part of building the total program.
“It’s such an athletic league, and we feel like it’s a big part of what we do. I was joking with one of the coaches, the performance team is going to move us out of our offices pretty soon.”
That team includes director of player performance Zach Weatherford, who spent the past two years as human performance manager at the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command; strength and conditioning coach Dan Meehan, who had done the same for the North Melbourne Football Club in Australia; athletic trainer/physical therapist Lloyd Beckett; and director of physical therapy Aisling Toolan.
It’s an eclectic mix, but one that has gotten rave reviews.
“I look at the positive feedback I’ve gotten from the players, and just the fact [they’re] consistently coming in on their own and we’re seeing changes in guys’ bodies,’’ general manager Sean Marks said. “They’ve either slimmed-down, toned-up, whatever. They’re buying into the processes.”
From the slimmed-down like Lopez and Sean Kilpatrick to the toned-up like Chris McCullough, the changes are apparent.
“It’s just changing the way my body moves. We’re looking for any way we can improve,’’ Lopez said. “It’s all across the board, preventing future injury, stamina, diet as well. We have specialized people all across the board, and we’re already reaping the benefits.”
In the case of Lopez, the benefit is he’s seven pounds lighter and clearly leaner, and has better mobility as a result of a better diet.
“I don’t like to talk about it, it’s so sad,’’ Lopez said ruefully. “My Achilles’ heel when it comes to my diet are Slurpees, Icees, like Sonic Route 44 slushes with the Nerds or popping candy inside. That had to take a backseat.”
Kilpatrick’s makeover was even more visible. He has dropped nine pounds to 208 and sliced his body mass index from 13.5 to 8.5.
“It’s very big,’’ Kilpatrick said. “A lot more water now, no type of sugars like Gatorade. It helped me with my body getting better. Our weight-lifting program was totally different. … They’ve been doing a great job.”
On the flip side, that includes bulking McCullough up to 217 pounds.
“I see it in the mirror. I see it in myself and people telling me. I jump higher than I did in college, so my legs are definitely stronger,’’ McCullough said. “Everybody’s on the grind. We’re trying to beat the odds this season.”