4 Biggest NBA Training Camp Cliches and What They Actually Mean

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Cliches are as big a part of training camp as integrating new players into the rotation or developing new offensive sets. 

The use of cliches can be extremely frustrating for fans because so many press conferences are nothing more than one cliche after another. 

If coaches and players were not allowed to answer with cliches, then press conferences and other interviews would be can't-miss television. 

Unfortunately, that isn't the world we live in, so we will be forced to deal with the cliches in hopes of finding something noteworthy or remarkable. 

As the preseason action starts to heat up and the cliches keep popping up, just remember that the regular season tips off on October 30th. 

Player Y Has Been Shooting 400 Jumpers Per Day All Summer

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Who hasn't heard this one?

According to basketball legend, NBA players spend hundreds of hours in gyms over the summer tirelessly working on their jump shot. 

Are we really supposed to believe that NBA players are in the gym all summer hoisting up jumpers rather than spending time with friends and family?

That isn't to say that NBA players aren't consistently honing their skills and working to stay in tip-top shape, as the nature of the sport demands nothing less. But the players also use their offseason to get healthy and it also represents their only potential leisure time throughout the year. 

Fans love to hear how hard players have worked in order to help the team, but that idea has led to some exaggeration. 

This cliche is supposed to mean that players are working hard to improve, but it has lost its significance. 

The Team Is Really Starting to Gel

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This is one of my all-time favorite cliches—especially when a coach says it—because, what else is he going to say? 

How would it look if he said that his team was drifting further apart under his watch? 

Coaches have no choice but to say that the team is getting better with each practice, even if the on-court results don't back the statement up.

It is common to see teams without much experience as a unit struggle during the preseason and even into the regular season. Los Angeles Lakers fans should expect to see some of the growing pains as Steve Nash and Dwight Howard get acclimated with the team.

Chemistry takes time to build, but listening to this cliche makes it sound easy and painless.

This cliche means absolutely nothing and should be despised by all. 

We Have to Cut Down on Our Turnovers

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Few mistakes hurt teams more than turnovers do. Even the NBA's elite teams are vulnerable to upsets when they aren't taking care of the ball.

What must be understood about turnovers is that they are going to happen. The key is to limit the amount of turnovers that are made, which is how the Oklahoma City Thunder must think this season.

Turnovers never help the team making them, so every team wants to avoid them at all costs. The lip service in regards to taking better care of the ball is silly because it is a waste of breath.

All this cliche means is that the player or coach that utters the phrase is recognizing the problem and taking some part of responsibility for the issue. 

Turnovers are very important, but talking about trying to turn it over less is pointless. 

Player X Has the Potential to Have a Breakout Season

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Potential is one of the best and worst words in sports, as some with it become special players and other potential stars fall flat on their face. 

Prior to the regular season, optimism can be felt in every locker room and fanbase. Every team has the potential to reach realistic goals, but that is a story for a different day.   

The vast majority of NBA players have been labeled at one point to have potential, but not everyone can become a star, so something has to give. 

In situations that involve under-performing players who were taken high in the draft, statements about how that player will break out in the upcoming season are shoved down our collective throat.