What time did you get to work today? Nine o'clock? Chances are Arron Afflalo had you beat by an hour and a half. From Joanne Gerstner of the Detroit News:
He gets up at 6:30 a.m., something he's done since arriving at Pistons training camp early last fall. By 7:30 a.m., he's at the Pistons practice facility to work out and practice shooting.
Never mind that the official team practice usually doesn't start until 10:30 a.m.
Or that it's an off-day, and Afflalo could stay home.
"That's just the way I've always been; I like to get up early and head off to practice," said Afflalo, 22. "It just feels good, because I like working hard and making myself better. Being in the gym is actually a pretty peaceful place for me. It's going to the office and getting my work done."
It's no act -- his teammates have been praising his intensity for months, and Flip Saunders has called him one of the hardest workers he's ever coached. His playing time has been cut lately due to Rodney Stuckey's emergence, but I've seen enough to predict with confidence that Afflalo will have a very long career in this league.