This is the time of summer when the reports are flying that “Player X lost 15 pounds and is in great shape” or “Player Y added 10 pounds of muscle this summer.” All such claims should be taken with all the salt you would take late-night infomercial claims of weight loss/muscle gain.
What makes Cavaliers second-year player Tyler Zeller different is how he added some muscle this summer.
Krispy Kreme donuts. Like 10 of them in a sitting.
It’s just part of the story, but it’s the fun part of the Plain Dealer’s profile of Zeller heading into this season.
“They’re so good,’' he said, unabashedly. “If you get them hot….’'
Yeah, yeah. We know.
“I ate about six in probably 10 minutes, maybe less,’' he said.
Zeller ate more than just donuts, and he admitted he ate a lot to add weight but had to get in the gym and get back in shape, turn some of that into muscle. He said he is up between 255-260 pounds, which is a little more than 10 pounds heavier than he played most of last season.
Zeller had a nice if unspectacular rookie season — he averaged 7.9 points a game on 43.8 percent shooting and grabbed 5.7 rebounds a game. You could see a potential future rotation player in there, if he keeps working on his game.
His role will be different this season — Zeller started 55 games last season, but with Andrew Bynum now in the fold (and in theory healthy enough to play some games) and Anderson Varejao expected back, Zeller will likely be coming off the bench. Fewer minutes, more energy is the hope.
We’ll see. But if he learned one thing out of his rookie season, it’s how to make a good donut run. Apparently.
