Hayes was selected with the 10th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty Images

This has been a good week for us. We got a win against Cleveland last night, and earlier this week we won in Atlanta. I was born and raised in Atlanta, so going home to play the Hawks was exciting. Playing in my hometown in front of all of my family and friends was a thrill. My twin brother, Jonas, was there. I like when he can watch me play, and I am excited to watch him play. He’s a senior at Georgia this year. Actually, he’s playing tomorrow night. They are playing Western Carolina; the team that I signed with right out of high school. I’m definitely going to be paying close attention to the college basketball world this season.

It was nice to leave Atlanta with a win, but then we had to get ready for Cleveland. Obviously, playing Cleveland means playing against LeBron James. They beat us earlier this year, so it was nice to beat them this time around. LeBron is a great player who can fill up the stat sheet. For him to be just 18 years old, and playing as well as he is playing; it shows that he is great, but he is going to be even greater.

We are getting ready to make the trip out West. It’s the first big road trip of my professional career, but we’re ready for it. We can’t look at what happened in the past, or look forward to anyone. We are just going to take it one game at a time. We have Denver on Friday, and it doesn’t matter what is after that. We have Denver on Friday, and that is what is important.

This is as big as it gets when it comes to my draft class. We had LeBron last night, and now we have Carmelo (Anthony) tomorrow night. It’s going to be a good test for me and my team, but we have to look at as just another basketball game. I am not fazed by the match-up. Carmelo is a great player, but I’m looking at it like every other basketball game. Carmelo is big and athletic. He can shoot the ball well, and he uses his athleticism as well as anyone, but we just have to stay focused. We are going to take it one game at a time.

Right now, I haven’t hit the “rookie wall”. I don’t know what it will be like if I do hit it, but if do, I’ll fight through it. Last night against Cleveland my shot wasn’t falling, so I was just trying to do other things to help us win. I need to rebound, and distribute the ball to my teammates. There are other ways to help out to help our team get the win. Those types of games are going to come. I am going to have my ups and downs. I just have to learn from the bad games, and get better from one game ‘til the next. I’m learning from my mistakes, and trying to get better.

I am a rookie in this league. I know what type of player I am, and what type of player I can become. Right now LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are getting all the respect that they deserve. They are great players, but my time will come. I am just going to be patient.