Originally published by LakersNation.com
Second-year forward Adou Thiero was one of the players who was singled out by Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick for the outstanding development he has made this offseason. Thiero was recovering from knee surgery last summer and thus missed Summer League, wasn’t able to fully participate and was out to start the regular season as well.
But the work Thiero has put in this offseason has stood out and the most important thing in his eyes is simply that he was healthy, and he focused on making sure that remains the case going forward.
“The main difference is I’m healthy,” Thiero said during Lakers Media Day. “I got a chance to go out and compete this week in training camp. That’s what I’ve been working on this whole summer, just trying to make sure my body is right, figuring that out, and trying to stay on the floor so I can actually get out there and play.”
Despite the early injury problems, Thiero still showed some flashes of what he brings to the table last year. And coming into this season, he knows that defense is his key to carving out a rotation spot.
“Just going out and playing hard every chance I get,” Thiero noted. “Being that point-of-attack defender, being able to guard the best guy on the other team, stay in front and just make their night very difficult.”
Thiero showed some glimpses of that defensive intensity and some offensive improvements during Summer League that got many excited. And the wing focused on building off of that in his offseason workouts.
“To start off, building off of Summer League. I feel like I had a pretty solid Summer League, got better within each game we played. Then taking that into summer workouts and just coming in working on different things, understanding our offense a little more and what my role would be on this team. Just taking more pride on the defensive end because I’m trying to become that point-of-attack defender guarding the best guys every night.”
But even with all the work he’s put in, his first NBA season burned the importance of health into Thiero’s head.
“Availability is the best ability,” Thiero added. “So just taking care of my body because there’s no opportunity without availability.”
The opportunity for a rotation spot and potentially even a starting role is certainly there for Thiero. If those improvements shine during training camp and preseason, he will definitely have a spot in Redick’s rotation.
JJ Redick’s praise gave Adou Thiero even more confidence
No matter how much work a player puts in, getting recognition from others can provide a little extra satisfaction and Thiero admitted that the praise he got from Redick gave him even more confidence.
“It definitely gives me a lot more confidence on top of the confidence I’ve been building this whole summer,” Thiero said. “Just being able to be out there and play since I’m healthy, so just playing pick up every day and trying to incorporate everything we worked on from individual workouts in the summer and adding that to our pickup games and seeing how that’s paying off. I’d say just building my confidence in myself.”
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Second-year forward Adou Thiero was one of the players who was singled out by Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick for the outstanding development he has made this offseason. Thiero was recovering from knee surgery last summer and thus missed Summer League, wasn’t able to fully participate and was out to start the regular season as well.
But the work Thiero has put in this offseason has stood out and the most important thing in his eyes is simply that he was healthy, and he focused on making sure that remains the case going forward.
“The main difference is I’m healthy,” Thiero said during Lakers Media Day. “I got a chance to go out and compete this week in training camp. That’s what I’ve been working on this whole summer, just trying to make sure my body is right, figuring that out, and trying to stay on the floor so I can actually get out there and play.”
Despite the early injury problems, Thiero still showed some flashes of what he brings to the table last year. And coming into this season, he knows that defense is his key to carving out a rotation spot.
“Just going out and playing hard every chance I get,” Thiero noted. “Being that point-of-attack defender, being able to guard the best guy on the other team, stay in front and just make their night very difficult.”
Thiero showed some glimpses of that defensive intensity and some offensive improvements during Summer League that got many excited. And the wing focused on building off of that in his offseason workouts.
“To start off, building off of Summer League. I feel like I had a pretty solid Summer League, got better within each game we played. Then taking that into summer workouts and just coming in working on different things, understanding our offense a little more and what my role would be on this team. Just taking more pride on the defensive end because I’m trying to become that point-of-attack defender guarding the best guys every night.”
But even with all the work he’s put in, his first NBA season burned the importance of health into Thiero’s head.
“Availability is the best ability,” Thiero added. “So just taking care of my body because there’s no opportunity without availability.”
The opportunity for a rotation spot and potentially even a starting role is certainly there for Thiero. If those improvements shine during training camp and preseason, he will definitely have a spot in Redick’s rotation.
JJ Redick’s praise gave Adou Thiero even more confidence
No matter how much work a player puts in, getting recognition from others can provide a little extra satisfaction and Thiero admitted that the praise he got from Redick gave him even more confidence.
“It definitely gives me a lot more confidence on top of the confidence I’ve been building this whole summer,” Thiero said. “Just being able to be out there and play since I’m healthy, so just playing pick up every day and trying to incorporate everything we worked on from individual workouts in the summer and adding that to our pickup games and seeing how that’s paying off. I’d say just building my confidence in myself.”
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
