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Jared Dudley talks about his rookie season.

Throughout the remainder of the season, Jared Dudley will be giving you an inside look at life as an NBA rookie. Be sure to keep checking back for more updates.

March 3, 2008

For me it’s been up and down with the playing time. My body feels good. I am playing well right now and shooting the ball extremely well. I'm just trying to get on the court. I feel like the next 20 games are going to be my best 20 games of the year leading up to my sophomore year. I am definitely excited and just trying to get some more wins for this team.

I feel that I am just getting my stride to be honest with you. I was used to playing 40 minutes a game in college and now coming in here and averaging about 15. My legs feel good; I picked up stuff like yoga and pilates. My body feels good. I've been waiting and I know the opportunity is right here in front of me.

I know I'm going to have production. It’s something that’s been instilled in me since I was little. When I have the time, I know I am definitely going to succeed. I know there are games when you’re not going to play well, but with me, I trying to be consistent as much as possible. I wish Gerald can come back as soon as possible because our team is not as good if he’s not in our lineup. But while he’s gone, I am just going to try to hold down the fort with our other teammates and play our roles. We'll be fine.

I think obviously you might be in shock when you play for the first time against Kobe or Shaq. But after a minute, you run up and down and it’s more of the challenge at hand of trying to get better in this league. I feel like every game, I’ve gotten a little bit better.

When you look at the NBA, people say they don’t really play defense. They say it’s easier to score. It’s a lot harder than people think it is! The three-point line is further back, you don’t get any easy lay-ups in the NBA, I think it’s the hardest thing for me.