In an effort to help the players avoid mental fatigue during this 66-game sprint, the Sixers’ strength and conditioning coach Jesse Wright and trainer Kevin Johnson suggested to Collins the players do yoga on their rare practice days. The change in training has been a hit.
“We have erred on the side of rest, just trying to keep our guys as mentally fresh as possible,” Collins said. “As a result we have had a lot of slippage in what we would like to do offensively, but I think we have the better chance to win, rather than come in and try to practice for 40 minutes we are better off letting our guys come in and relax and get a nice session of yoga while being together.”
“It was good for us,” Andre Iguodala said. “I have done yoga over the summers so I know what it can do for the body. We have so many games so stretching or release and getting the blood flowing can take your body a long way.”
For a guy like Spencer Hawes, who has missed four straight games with a strained Achilles’ tendon, 30 minutes of yoga was heaven sent.
— Reported by Dei Lynam of the CSN Philly Blog
