Avery Johnson called off the team's scheduled practice for Monday morning and then the players decided to hold a players-only practice before boarding the plane for New Orleans.
Because Johnson canceled the practice, the ensuing media availability was also canceled, so players were not available to speak to the media on Monday. Johnson held an impromptu media session at the team hotel in New Orleans at about 6 p.m.
He said he doesn't know what was discussed during the players-only practice. He said from what he heard, it went pretty well.
"We met briefly. I talked to them and then I told them let's just meet on the plane," Johnson said. "After talking to them about meeting on the plane, somebody amongst the players decided that they thought they needed to have some sort of practice and they proceeded to go on the practice court and have a players-only practice."
Johnson was then asked if he believes the players-only practice could have some kind of carry-over for must-win Game 5 Tuesday night.
"We're in a situation right now where I don't know if we need another drill," Johnson said. "We've been having drills and scrimmages and a lot of things since the first day of training camp, and if you don't have it by now, I don't know if you're going to have a Cliff Notes session and get it. I was thinking about just keeping the legs fresh and meeting on the plane, but they decided that they needed to go down on the court and do something. We'll see what type of carry-over it has."
-- Jeff Caplan
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