<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LAS VEGAS - Al Jefferson showed as a rookie that he had the game to be a 35-minute player in the NBA. But while many Celtics followers were clamoring for more Al, the fact was he didn't have the body to answer the call. ``That's a big issue for me, and I've really been working on it,'' a much leaner Jefferson said yesterday. ``I know I definitely have to improve my conditioning. I feel like with a lot of hard work I will be ready, and I've been dedicating my time that way. ``I haven't really lost a whole lot of weight. There's just a lot of body fat gone. There's more muscle. A lot of that baby fat is kind of leaving me now.'' Despite the fact he came directly to the Celtics from high school ball, Jefferson was easily the club's best low-post scorer last season - which may be damning him with faint praise. He ended up averaging 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.8 minutes, but those numbers should improve simply because he'll be able to linger longer on the hardwood. Jefferson should also be able to take more advantage of the Celts' transition game. ``He's got great hands, so he should be able to do well on the break,'' said Doc Rivers. ``He did it in streaks last season, but his conditioning was so poor that he could only do it for two or three minutes and then he'd have to sit down. ``He had some problems with conditioning, strength and defense. I think offensively he was ready to play, but offense wasn't our problem. We were very good offensively. But now Al can be more a part of things because he's in better shape.'' Glancing out onto the practice court at UNLV, Rivers added, ``He just looks so much better. You look at his body now and he looks good, but he's not even halfway physically to where he's going to be. He's still got to get stronger, and by getting stronger and in better body tone he's going to be faster. If you add more quickness and strength to Al Jefferson I think offensively he's going to be very, very good. And defensively he'll improve, as well.'' </div> Source
yea. i was hoping to hear that he had PUT ON some weight. hes gotta bulk up in the long run but if that means shaving off the baby fat first than thats whathe got to do
Yeah well, there are very few PEOPLE, nevermind basketball players, coming out of high school that can run up and down that court for 40 minutes a night, and that's what the C's will need from him, so no surprise there. As Doc has said, the kid's smart, and he knows where he needs to improve, and now it seems it's up to his body to cash his brain's checks, which has worked out relatively well so far for him, so let's see where it goes.
