Getting a win against a rival like Detroit was just what we needed. We knew we'd come out and play well because it was the Pistons. We had to play the kind of basketball we’re capable of playing to win against a good veteran team like them, and I thought we did just that.

The losing streak was definitely a burden. Hopefully getting that first win against a quality opponent will give us some confidence. We got some key stops at the end of the game when we needed them. That was the difference as opposed to the games we lost.

Starting out the way we did was all too familiar for us. It seems the last three or four seasons it’s been that way. We just needed to turn things around, and hopefully the Detroit win will help us do that. We don’t want those first four games to linger on any more than they already have. We need to start playing like ourselves. Once that happens, I know we’ll be fine.

Not to try and put a positive spin on starting 0-4, but hopefully because we’ve been there before and battled back and made the playoffs will better allow us to come out of whatever funk we were in. Everybody is keeping a positive mindset and staying away from any negativity. We realize we haven’t played our best basketball and we just need to stick together—whether it’s in the locker room or out on the court. As long as we can rely on each other and be there for each other, things are going to turn around.

You always have to look at the positives when you are in a challenging situation. It’s almost as if we are being tested right now. We can either lie down or we can fight back and get some wins. We know our schedule doesn’t get any easier this month, but this group will respond. These guys are resilient and this is not a team that is going to accept the way those first four games turned out.

We just need to play a complete game every time out. Our shooting percentages have been way down from where they normally are. Once we start clicking on offense, things will change. Also, we aren’t defending the ball like we need to. These are things that can be addressed and will be fixed. Things will come together for us.

One thing I want to add is that the fact that I didn’t sign a contract extension doesn’t have anything to do with any of this. My approach to the season is the same—it hasn’t changed since I’ve been here and it won’t change. I just want to come out and win games. Any time that things are going badly, people are going to look at all kinds of different situations to try and explain why. They can blame it on this or that, but the bottom line is that we just played poorly those first four games.

Before I sign off, let me give you a few of my picks for the end of the season honors. First off, my Rookie of the Year is Kevin Durant of the Seattle Sonics. He’s got amazing all-around offensive capabilities and he’s 6-foot-11 on top of it all. He can do so many things and he’s like a guard the way he handles the ball and comes off screens with that great touch. I’ll go with Marcus Camby of the Denver Nuggets for Defensive Player of the Year. He’s a guy who seems to get better as he gets older. He’s got that great length and long arms, and he really knows how to anticipate on the defensive end of the floor. Finally, for my MVP, I’ve got to go with Tim Duncan in a close race. He’s one of the most consistent players in the league and you seem to always see the Spurs in the Finals.

We finally made it through the preseason, and I think as a team, we’re looking pretty good. I expect us to be better than we were last year, and that’s something we’ve all been aiming for. The young big guys we got, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray, have shown they are going to be ready to come in and help right away. Between the rookies and Joe Smith, those guys will give our team a little different look from last season.

For me, having only played in two preseason games, I’m working on getting my rhythm going so once Opening Night in New Jersey on Wednesday is here, I’ll be ready to go full speed ahead. It’s a matter of trying to stay focused and make sure I do as much rehab with my ankle as I can. As we saw in our last preseason game on Thursday, injuries are a part of the game. So far it doesn’t look like anyone is dealing with anything too serious, so hopefully we’ll be a healthy club when the regular season begins.

There’s some ground that needs to be made up when you’re hurt. I was out for almost two weeks, and it’s important to do what you can to keep your conditioning where it needs to be and do a little bit extra every day. It’s all about rhythm; you can only get your rhythm when you’re playing every game and going at game speeds. As important as practice and individual workouts are, they don’t simulate what you see when you step on the court against an NBA team.

When people aren’t asking me about my ankle, it’s either my contract extension or the Kobe trade talk. Those are things I’ve got to deal with. I’d be lying if I said they weren’t distractions, because at times, they can be, especially if you let them. I do my best to focus on the game and try to understand that something will get done sooner or later. Some of that stuff is simply out of my control. So that’s the frame of mind I’ve tried to adopt and it’s worked for me so far.

I don’t spend much time reading about what kind of season the experts think we’ll have, but I know a few people have picked us to go to the Finals. There’s a lot of parody in the Eastern Conference, and you don’t know what’s going to happen. It seemed like a lot of guys came over from the Western Conference—KG to Boston, obviously—so that’s going change things up from top to bottom. I think it’s up in the air. One thing we do have going for ourselves is that we have more chemistry than some of these other teams and that will bode well for us.

To hear the Finals talk, though, does credit the kind of team we have and the way we play. We’re a fundamentally strong team and we play defense. They say defense wins championships, and we’re at the top of the league in a lot of defensive categories every year. With our core group of guys and the mix of veterans we have, it’s something that could help us go a long way into the postseason.

As much as anything, we want to improve every single year. It’s a matter of looking at our experiences from the season before and learning from them—both the good things and the bad things—and moving forward. Since the core guys from this group have been here, that’s what we’ve been doing and we just want to continue with that upward pattern.

In terms of taking that next step, which in part for us means getting past the second round, there are a lot of things involved. Having a healthy team throughout the course of the season is something that gets overlooked a lot. We also need to be mentally ready for what we want to accomplish.

When you look at last year, the Pistons are a great team. But when we went in to that second round to play them, for some reason we weren’t on, and you saw what happened the first couple games. After that, we made adjustments and turned it on and made it a series. We need to learn how to be “turned on” the entire season, especially when it matters the most. We’ll get better as the year goes on and guys will get more confident. Confidence and experience does a lot for a team.

For now, we’re focusing on Opening Night in New Jersey on Wednesday. Everyone on this team has high goals set for the team and themselves. We want to be an NBA Championship contender and we have to keep that mindset every time we take the floor, whether it’s in practice or for a playoff game. If we can stay focused and maintain a good level of intensity, I really think we can do something special this year.