Feb. 23, 2009

Back from the Break (Brook Lopez)

After the Rookie Challenge, I just went back home and hung out in Fresno. So the weekend was completely uneventful. It was to be back – it hasn’t changed at all. Of course, my first trip was still to In-N-Out, right when I got back there.

I did something of my own for the PS3 design -- something Robin drew. We etched that on. It’s nothing you’d recognize, just something random.

As far as free swag, what I told you about before, that was pretty much the end of it. We went to Sports Authority and made an appearance, but we didn’t get anything.

New York Comic Con
Don’t know if you’ve seen the video, but I went to New York Comic Con with Ryan. It was great. I met a lot of comic book guys I’m just huge fans of: Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Todd Nauk. It was just incredible for me. I’m in awe of those guys; I’m one of their biggest fans. I got a couple of cool sketches from Jim Lee and Todd Nauk. It was great.

I got into my burning questions a little bit, but Robin got to ask a lot of in-depth stuff about the workings because he got Nauk to come out to a game in L.A. against the Clippers. So he got to learn lots of stuff and got a sketch and everything.

And yeah, I had a DC shirt on at a meeting with some people from Marvel. What can I say? I’m a DC guy. Just a fan of their characters in general: I’m a huge Batman guy. I like Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Firestorm, but Batman’s always been my favorite.

Ryan dressed up as Chewbecca. I’m pretty sure it was his first time at one of these and I think he had a good time, enjoyed himself.

Comic-Con International: San Diego, that’s probably the biggest one around and that’s always a good one. But this was a good experience for me. Being on the East Coast, there were more East Coast creators and things like that. It was a great learning experience and I made some good connections.

Doing Well, But Wishing for Wins
I feel like I’ve done well, but there are obviously things I could’ve done better that kind of hurt us, mistakes I made that hurt us down the stretch. I just wanted to come out with wins. I thought I could’ve done a better job on Yao in the second half against Houston, because he kind of got off and they got to their run through him I felt.

I was just trying to keep him off the block as much as possible, trying to be physical with him and keep him out of the paint. If he catches it there, it’s a turnaround dunk or jump hook, an easy bucket for him.

I don’t think my blocks have to decrease as my defense improves. I need to work more on helpside, being in the right place at the right time to help my teammates if they get beaten.

Vinsanity, But No Deadline Deals
I’m glad Vince is still around. He’s a great teacher for me, just a great guy to be around. He’s helped me improve so much over the course of the season. Don’t want him to go anywhere.