March 26, 2009

Starting to Finish (Keyon Dooling)

We started out fairly well this season -- we exceeded a lot of expectations. But then, as most young teams do in this league, we had some hardships. We’re still trying to recover from that, but I think the development of this team is going pretty well.

It’s been fun starting these last few games. It’s awesome to play a lot and not try and cram your effectiveness into 20 minutes. It’s actually fun to just be able to let the game come to you. It slows down for you.

But you have to switch up your game. Obviously, when you’re coming off the bench, you have to bring more energy and try to do something to affect the game in a little bit of time. But when you’re a starter, you have to be solid, you have to be smart the whole time.

Delivering the Dunks
When all the stars align and the wind in the arena is just right, sometimes I can take off. But that’s few and far between, though the last few weeks I’ve been taking off a little bit. Physically I feel okay, but mentally I feel like I’m young as ever.

Mizzou's Sweet 16
I’ve been keeping track of Missouri’s run in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Anderson has been doing a phenomenal job down there. You don’t hear many “household” names on that team, but collectively, they’re very good. They play hard, they play together, they play smart. There’s no substitute for that chemistry and work ethic that they bring.

I talked to Coach Anderson this summer just to reach out to him and let him know he has my support and the program does as well. But pretty much everyone who was there while I was there is gone. It was almost a decade ago.

We play next against Memphis, and CDR, he is Mr. Memphis, so we have a little conversation going on. I’ll leave it at that.

From Where We Don't Do Winter
That’s probably been my most different transition this season – wintertime. And sometimes coming out and having to shovel snow. I had snow in college, but not to this extent – we’ve seen a lot of it this year. I just drive real slow. It’s cool though. I have no complaints.What I did learn was that the brooms really work well to get the snow off as opposed to just the normal snow brushes. I’m getting more savvy, but it’s been different.

My kids like to play in the snow, but their immune systems don’t like the snow as much as they do. So I’ve got to keep them in when it snows.

No Time for Reading
I haven’t been reading much. I’ve got about eight books on ice waiting for an island, for an ocean breeze to come by, so I can hear that in the background and just read.

Sixth Man, But Not No. 1
My name absolutely does not belong in the Sixth Man discussion! It’s not even close – at least I don’t think so. I don’t think our team record is good enough, and I don’t think my numbers are good enough. But I think what I bring off the bench is positive and beneficial to our team, so I’m happy with that.

Obviously, Jason Terry comes to mind, even though he’s more like a starter. Manu Ginobili, even though he’s missed a lot of games, is still spectacular coming off the bench. Those are the two guys who stand out immediately. We can’t say Paul Millsap, because he’s started so many games, but there are a lot of great players off our bench, a lot of players who embrace those roles and some players who even play better coming off the bench. It is what it is.

And Nate! Let me tell you, the season that Nate Robinson’s been having has been phenomenal. It’s been fun to watch – it’s very entertaining to see somebody as small as he is, with such a big heart and such a big game. It’s been fun to watch this year.

But it was more fun to beat him in the Garden, ha. That’s a great place to play.

March 9, 2009

Rookie Year Rockiness (Ryan)

For me, the season’s been really up and down. It’s tough as a rookie – well, some rookies. Other guys, like Brook, have their set positions, but I’m in there with three or four other power forwards. I’ve gone from starting to not playing. It’s different for me, but I’m trying to get used to it, trying to stay positive at all times. It’s weird, but when you’re not playing, Coach can call your name at any time, so you have to be ready.

Overall, I think the season’s going great. I’m learning a lot. My confidence has been bumpy, but as a whole, I think I can build from this. I’m going to get stronger and my game’s improving every day, so I’m excited to see where I can go from here.

And it’s exciting to be on a team that nobody expected could do anything – they thought we were going to be worst in the league – but is in the playoff race and being looked at to make a little run. Also, we can achieve more than even what we’re doing now. I think we have a lot of offensive presence. We need to work on our defense, but that’s something I think will come in time as we build as a team more. Everyone’s having fun – we’re a real close-knit team. It’s been a good year.

It’s a lot different than in college, where one loss can mean the whole season for you. It’s pretty rare when one loss can mean a season for a team in the NBA, because there’s so many games. But as we have fewer and fewer games to go, we’re feeling more pressure each game to get wins. It’s starting to feel a little bit like we’re heading into the Pac-10 Tournament or something, but not completely. We’re just trying to stay focused and take it one game at a time.

So This is What Winter's Like
Man, it’s completely different from California. I’m used to a lot of rain in Sacramento, but I’m not used to snowstorms and huge winds with crazy gusts. The weather is a complete 180 from what I’m used to. In a lot of ways, I try and stay positive so I don’t get depressed. I’m so used to the California sun, and I can’t tell you how nice it’s been the past few days to have it be 65 degrees. It feels amazing. I feel refreshed – when it’s snowing, I know I’m going to be inside and watching movies. It’s completely different from being outside and wearing T-shirts.

Before I got here, my mom was really warning me that I was going to need a jacket. I was like, "Nah, Mom, honestly, I’ve got a couple." But I ended up going and buying a bunch of them. You’ve got to stay warm, especially if you’re going out in the city. In December and January, we’d go out and just make it a normal night and it’d be 10 degrees outside. It’s a culture shock. When you think of New York City, as far as weather, it’s snow and it’s cold. I’m looking forward to the summertime here.

I’ve never really driven in the snow on freeways – oh wait, they don’t call them freeways here. Whatever. In California, we call them freeways – so that was a big change for me. But I got an SUV. I didn’t want to get a car that would have trouble in the snow. It took one day of adjustment, as far as checking the brakes and everything, because it can be pretty dangerous in some areas.

The first time it started snowing, we were right outside of practice and I’m looking at Brook, like, "How are we gonna do this?" I was sliding past stop signs. It was a big adjustment for me, but I’m definitely used to it.

Speaking of which, Brook finally got his license. We’re all really proud of him – he’s becoming a man before our eyes! He’s driven me a few times, so it’s good. I think he passed it the first time. I think since he’s getting up there – in his 20s – I think he just went right through and did the driving test. I don’t think he would’ve told me if he hadn’t passed.

He seemed really confident the first time he drove me. He’s driven my car before, but he was by himself. I wasn't nervous – I never saw any nicks or scratches on the car. He did well.

Stepping Up to See the Movies
If we have a day before we play on roadtrips, we generally go to a movie. We usually try to bring a sandwich or some dinner with us and eat it in the theater. This one time, we got big Subway sandwiches, then went to Coldstone and got some ice cream, also. It was hard to keep the ice cream from flipping over and getting everywhere, so we went to the front counter and bought our tickets, and the guy said, "You can’t bring that in here."

We were like, "Shoot," and got our jackets and put them over the food. We walked by again, and the guy said, "You guys are obviously sneaking food." So we were like, "Dang! All right." Then we see the escalators going the wrong way, and we run up the reverse escalators. It was just dumb; we looked like idiots. Just like running stairs in high school, but they’re coming at you, so it’s harder. But you have to have food – it’s necessary.

Half-Million Halfcourt Shot ... NOT!
That College Humor prank was hilarious. How could you get a whole crowd to cheer at the right time? It’s even more funny when you follow all of the pranks, because I watched all of them and they really got each other bad.

The fake proposal was awful. That was so bad. Me and my buddy were watching that last year – my friend Dave Liss from Cal (a walk-on, he was one of my roommates). He showed me all those and we were just busting up.

I'm not confident at all I'd be able to hit that shot. I’ve never tried it. I’m kind of confident shooting a free throw with my eyes close, but no way with the halfcourt. No. Way. Maybe a three-pointer, from the top of the key. Or the corner, but the backboard’s kind of in the way there. With a dead-on target, you could bank it, too.

March 1, 2009

Game-Winning Game Changer (Devin)

It’s still unbelievable. I’ve seen it a billion times and can’t fathom what went on, can’t put it into words. I actually tried the shot a couple more times and didn’t come close. I don’t know how I still made it. That was a very weird, weird game. But fun.

I didn’t look at the replay the first couple of times. But as the week continued, I’d turn on TV and there it would be. They were comparing it to other halfcourt shots around the league, and there’s been a lot, around the world.

It’s good to be getting YouTube hits for a positive reason.

Turning 26
My birthday was last week. I don’t really feel older. Going from 26-30 is a breezethrough, from what I hear. Like 21-25, it kind of flows. I had a nice surprise birthday party in the city with family and friends – they got me good. There were 20 people from home, the whole team, the coaching staff, Kiki and then all my friends from New York. So about 100 total.

I was surprised to see everybody from my hometown, really. It was funny -- the whole day I was sitting around kind of bored, and they were all here and nobody told me! So I walked in and saw all my friends, and I was just like, ‘This was kind of a wasted day.’ But it was good that they kept the surprise.

All-Star? All Over
I forgot all about All-Star Weekend, honestly. You just jump right back into the season. I’ll take time to look at it this summer, the accomplishments and whatnot, but I’m solely focused on getting the team to the playoffs. That’s what I’m focused on the most.

I did get a few memorabilia items from the guys, mostly jerseys and shoes. Definitely started a good collection: Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade jerseys signed, and then a picture with Muhammad Ali.

That glass trophy LeBron gave me is on my desk. I definitely kept that. I like that at the end, it reads, “Your friend, LeBron.”

Repeating Rituals
I heard about Dwight Howard’s pregame ritual. That’s pretty standard. I don’t know if we express it publicly, but I think that’s pretty normal for most. That’s just Dwight being Dwight.

As for myself, I’m not even superstitious, but I’m not gonna lie – the last three games I’ve repeated everything I’ve done since the first one. The third time wasn't the charm for the team, but I got it individually, I guess.

Feb. 23, 2009

Back from the Break (Brook)

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.