Like all the other rookies around the league, Lazar Hayward of the Minnesota Timberwolves is learning about the ins and outs of the National Basketball Association.
The former Marquette University player has discovered, for example, that his name to the veterans isn't really Lazar.
"Some of them don't call you by name," Hayward said with a laugh. "They just call you 'Rook.' "
Hayward also has learned that rookies have duties other than learning the Xs and Os of the pro game.
"We have to collect the balls after everything we do," he said. "So they're throwing the balls all over the place . . . all over up in the stands. Every time. It never fails.
"And, carrying the bags and getting those (veteran) guys' stuff when they need it. It's not really bad, but they definitely let you know (that you're a rookie)."
Beyond the traditional rookie initiation, Hayward has made a positive first impression.
Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis speaks highly of Hayward and says he didn't play much in the preseason because the team has a number of players at the wing position and not necessarily because Hayward wasn't playing well.
Hayward played in six of the Timberwolves' first seven exhibition games for a total of 31 minutes. But he then had eight points and six rebounds in 23 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 22 at the Bradley Center.
"It's definitely different," Hayward said of the pro game. "The guys are a lot better. A lot quicker, a lot faster and a lot stronger. It's definitely as advertised. But I'm adjusting pretty well. We have a great coaching staff and I have a bunch of great teammates, and they're teaching me the right things. It's just about what I anticipated. I expected it to be very, very tough and it is.
"I'm learning that if you don't take care of your body and if you don't take care of yourself and you don't maximize every opportunity, you won't last long. A lot of the older guys are really, really teaching me that, and I'm learning that you have to be able to learn a bunch of different things on the fly. It's very, very quick so you have to be able to keep yourself up so you're at a really good pace with everything that we're doing."
Hayward was asked about adjusting to the fact he wasn't playing much.
"It's not hard," he said. "I'm a rookie. We have a really good team, and we have a number of different guys at that wing position and those guys are established. They've been here for a while, and they know exactly how to play. So I'm doing a good job of just learning."
Love and happiness
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich can't figure out why there are so many Heat-haters, calling what Miami Heat President Pat Riley did "amazing" and "a coup."
Popovich and NBA Commissioner David Stern were among the few to call and wish Riley well after LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami.
"Whatever the rules are, those are the rules," Popovich said. "Nobody broke the rules. We live in a world where there are so many opinions; it's enough to make you puke. People have to (complain) about something. That's just the world we live in."
Leader of the pack
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard apparently has toned down his clowning, as coaches and teammates alike agree he reported this season with a far more businesslike attitude. Howard points to last season's loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals as the reason.
"I think that I found another gear in those last few games that I didn't even know I had," he said. "I realized that I could be more of a vocal leader and push myself to an extra level. I'm trying to be more serious now on the court."
A sensitive issue
How does a coach choose captains on a team that includes James, Bosh and Wade?
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with the incumbents, which meant Wade and Udonis Haslem would remain co-captains. It's the first time James hasn't been a team captain since his rookie season in Cleveland, but he's fine with Wade and Haslem being co-captains.
"It's not about what they've done on the court," James said. "It's about what they'll continue to do on and off the court and what they mean to this franchise.
"So I'm all for it."
Making a point
Former Bucks point guard Ramon Sessions feels he has been given a new lease on life after the Timberwolves traded him to Cleveland in July.
He didn't fit well backing up Jonny Flynn in Minnesota's offense, but Sessions was one of Cleveland's most consistent players in the preseason, averaging 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in eight games. Sessions likes running the pick-and-roll and he says he did more of that with Cleveland in the preseason that he did in 82 games in Minnesota last season.
Meeting the whistles
Houston team captain Shane Battier decided to draft another captain and has guard Aaron Brooks join him for the pregame meeting with the referees.
Brooks led the Rockets with nine technical fouls last season and Battier felt this would give him a chance to chat with the referees about something other than calls he didn't like.
"He was reluctant to do it, but I think it will benefit him," Battier said.
Fast breaks
Wade, on the Heat signing Jerry Stackhouse : "I think he proved last year, coming back with the Bucks, he's a very productive player." . . .
San Antonio's Matt Bonner, on the baseball-sized lump on his sprained right ankle: "That's what I get for jumping." . . .
James said, considering the injuries, the Heat might not come together as a team until January.
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