Slimmed-down Thompson shows energy for Kings
Posted by rsanrel on October 7th, 2009
The lesson was about as simple as the solution.
Which was a credit to Jason Thompson, really.
His game is so obvious, so old school, that anything less than the norm stands out like a center running the fast break. So when the Kings’ second-year forward struggled in the first two summer league games in July and had many wondering why he couldn’t dominate the lesser competition, he knew exactly why.
The buffed-out body he had been working on had simply grown too big.
“The focus throughout the summer was to get stronger, so I was putting on good muscle but I wasn’t eating right,” he said this week. “I took (advantage) of someone telling me to have an offseason after playing 82 games as a rookie. I might have taken it a little too far, so now I know how to prepare myself.”
It hasn’t been a problem this preseason, though, as the 250-pound Thompson is 10 pounds leaner and looking meaner again entering tonight’s exhibition debut against the Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore. The light feet and end-to-end sprints have returned, as have the putback dunks that were briefly substituted for lethargic layups. Hyperactive without being hyper is the goal, and Thompson seems to be back at it.
It’s a key recovery for the Kings, who saw Thompson’s play last season as one of the few bright spots and felt vindicated for passing on then-LSU talent Anthony Randolph of Golden State with the No. 12 pick in the draft.
“I think he’s been terrific,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “I thought he was active on the boards. He gives you another player you can run your offense through, because he’s so versatile offensively.
“I like him in the pick and roll. I like him when he faces (the basket). He did a good job in the post and on the boards, too. He had an extremely good day (on Saturday during the team’s open scrimmage), and he’s been like that in practice every day, too.”
But Thompson can’t showcase any of his skills from the bench, where he often sat with foul trouble.
Click here to read the full article – By Sam Amick of SacBee.com
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