Season Opens Tonight
10/29/08
Tonight we begin the new season in Orlando against the Magic, the team I used to play for when I first came into the NBA. It should be a good game. We played them twice in the preseason and both games were close.
It's important we do well against our division opponents this year. We want to do better than we did last year, and one of the main things that can make that happen would be to get homecourt advantage during the playoffs. If we can beat our division rivals, it will really help us to achieve that.
The preseason went really well for us. I really feel good about how I am playing right now. Of course I can always improve, and I'm always going to be trying to get better, but I feel much better mentally and physically now than I did at this time last year.
I had some good scoring games in the preseason, even scoring the winning basket against Detroit, but that stuff doesn't matter to me. Of course I am willing to take shots and score if the team needs me to, but I just want to win. Whatever I need to do, whatever the coaching staff wants me to do, I will do to help this team. Winning is more important to me than any individual stats.
I am really excited for this season, and I think our team is capable of a lot of good things if we stay focused and work towards being more consistent than we have in the past. We have to come to play every night.
Lastly, I want to thank all my fans for all of your support. I love reading your emails, and I am trying to answer them all. It may take me a little bit, but I am working on it. I really appreciate all of your encouragement, it really helps keep me motivated and determined.
Thanks for reading, and let's hope this season ends up with us back in the playoffs.