We're talking about practice?

A few random observations from the open practice this afternoon (to which I was 15 minutes late thanks to Atlanta traffic):

• J.J. Frazier had the hot hand today, hitting multiple contested threes.  That was nice to see.  If he really did gain 5 pounds, though, I'm not sure where he put it.  He looks as slight as ever.
• Nice touch out of Juwan Parker, too, who canned a few mid-range jumpers.
• Yante Maten looked really good around the basket.  One of the first things I saw was him backing down Iduwe and scoring.  I can see why everyone is high on the guy.
• Maten also hit a few jumpers, including one in rhythm just inside the 3-point line.  He also calmly drained about a 38-foot three to give his team possession just as I sat down, but I doubt we'll see that one drawn up during any games.
• Marcus Thornton looks as healthy and happy as I've seen him.  He scored fairly easily a couple of times in the paint.  He also wins the award for most sincere smile and handshake.
• Kenny Paul Geno hit a couple three pointers out of the corner.  That's good to see.
• Cameron Forte had a few aggressive drives to the basket.  His shot is still very wonky, but that matters less if he can get to the rim.
• Iduwe may contribute defensively, but I wouldn't expect much out of him on offense.  He's very raw.
• Kenny Gaines sat out, but I heard Fox say it was just illness, which is a relief.
• Charles Mann's jumper is still really flat, but he didn't shoot much today, so I'll withhold judgment for now.
• The free throw shooting at the end of practice was not encouraging.

All in all, I was pleased with what I saw.  I missed a great photo opportunity when J.J. Frazier was standing "shoulder to shoulder" with Osahen Iduwe, so sorry about that.

Next up is the "secret scrimmage" with N.C. State on Saturday in Charlotte.  We'll see if any news leaks out from that...