Instead of knocking on wood, Jamahl Mosley simply knocked on the side of his head.
Moments later, Trey Murphy did something similar, bending down and tapping the wooden floor of the New Orleans Pelicans’ practice facility.
Tuesday was the first day of training camp, and both Murphy and Mosley “knocked on wood” because the team was fully healthy as it starts preparing for the season.
No injuries to start camp is new territory for the Pelicans, but a healthy roster wasn’t the only thing new.
This was the first practice under new head coach Mosley, hired in May to turn things around in New Orleans. The words hanging on the walls were new, too.
Relentless. Mental toughness. Resilient. Together. Dominate. Physicality.
That’s the mindset Mosley is trying to instill in the team he inherited. It took just one practice for players to get an understanding of how their new coach operates.
“One thing I’ve noticed about Mosley is that he’s really, really into the details,” Murphy said. “If we are not doing a drill right, he’s going to make sure we do it over and do it right. That’s something you can really appreciate. If you keep the rope tight, then whenever you’re ready to pull (the rope), it’s ready.”
Mosley, who spent the previous five season as head coach of the Orlando Magic, liked what he saw in his new team on the first day.
“I love the energy in the building, the intensity,” Mosley said. “The work ethic was there. It’s what we talked about from the beginning. Starting with the foundation of our defense and them moving into our offense and the structure of it.”
That intensity will continue. Tuesday was the first of 17 practices before the Oct. 21 season opener. The first of some two-a-day sessions is Wednesday.
Zion Williamson, entering his eighth NBA season, is pleased with what he’s seen from Mosley thus far. Williamson was the last one to leave the court Tuesday, staying afterward to work on his 3-point shot.
“I have to make a minimum of 50, and then I can get out of here,” Williamson said.
He and his teammates are buying into what Mosley is selling.
“I love basketball, and I love X’s and O’s and seeing how different people see the game,” Williamson said. “When he was in Orlando, he had a great defensive team. We want to bring that same thing, but with our own flair to it.”
This time a year ago, Murphy and Herb Jones were both rehabbing shoulder injuries. Dejounte Murray was still working his way back from a torn Achilles. Derik Queen was nursing a wrist injury.
That wasn’t the case Tuesday with every player suited up.
“It’s huge,” Mosley said. “Getting on the same page right away without anybody walking in with anything happening right now. Knock on wood that everybody stays healthy as we are getting everybody on the same page and preaching the same message and communicating the right way.”
One of those messages was written on the T-shirts that Mosley and some of his players wore during practice. On the front, it read: “In Nola, culture means business.” On the back, it read: “We stand on business.”
“What it means is this city represents grit, hard work, toughness, determination,” Mosley said. “No matter where you’re from in this city. We’ve talked about representing it the right way and those guys have to feel it and know it every time they step in the building.”
Tuesday was the first step.
“It was a great first day of practice,” Williamson said. “We are pretty much setting our identity of what we want to look for on defense and what we want to look for on offense. But today was more of a defensive day. It was a good day at work.”