On the Road Again

Hey everyone! It’s Donyell – checking in from the road. It’s been a while …

Being hurt has been very tough, especially with us shorthanded in the front court. But I’ve tried to contribute as much as I can without actually being out there.

The prognosis was that I’d be back in 6-8 weeks and I just got that last week, so I still have five to seven weeks left. Right now, I can only take the brace off to take a shower. Next week I can take it out a little more often. My return just depends on how the situation unfolds as to when I come back. I don’t think conditioning is going to be a problem because that’s all I can do right now and that’s all I’ve been doing.

Obviously game conditions are different than just running and shooting around, but it’s like the doctor said: 25 percent of people beat the 6-8 weeks, 50 percent of people come back on time, and 25 percent come back after. And that’s the only statistic we have right now.

Being hurt has really sharpened my leadership skills – with a teammate coming out of the game, being able to talk with them. It’s like learning to be an assistant coach. I’m not saying I’m going to retire at the end of this contract and go right into coaching, but there’s still things I can work on in case that happens.

I’ve always said that I’m going to play this game and be done on my own time – not because I’m too old or anything like that. I want to make sure that I have all my tools in place, that I am able to step right in and coach. I just want to have all my avenues open and that’s the reason why I started to go back to school as well, because I wanted to have that opportunity open. I wanted to have this experience in case I wanted to coach. That’s why I’ve been more vocal.

I’ve always had an interest in coaching. One unique thing at my basketball camps is that I’m there all day, every day. I don’t coach all the time, but if there’s a team that needs it, I’ll coach them. I’ve never really decided at what level I’ve wanted to coach yet, but that’s something I’ve always been interested in.

Despite being shorthanded, the mentality of the team right now is great.

In the past, there were times where you might say something to a teammate and they might get upset. But this year, teammates are accepting advice very well. I know guys will come up to me and ask what they could have done differently and what they’re doing right.

When you look at the situations with Andy and Sasha and things could have gone sour early, but this team is playing hard.

I think the core group of guys coming back together for another year has been huge for our relative success, early on. Yes, we do miss Andy. But I think that’s the reason we’re still able to play pretty well. Right now, I think we have the same exact record as we did last year at this time. Yes, we’re missing a key component, but we have guys who have our back.

If you look at our first year together – three years ago – Andy was hurt in the first part of the season, and we still won 50 games that year. And I’m not trying to count Andy out, but we’ve been here before. And that’s part of the approach that we’re taking. We talk and we all agree that it’s going to be tough without Andy. But this core group played without Andy before, and that’s what’s helping us out right now.

Tuesday’s win over Boston was really big. Even though it’s early, it’s big. People have been kind of handing Boston the East, and when we won that game, I think we were letting people know that the Eastern Conference still goes through us. And Sunday’s game in Boston is going to be another huge game. I think this stretch is a very huge stretch for us, considering that it’s Toronto, Indiana, Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Boston, New Jersey and Washington.

These are all teams that we feel are going to be in the Playoffs and we might meet in the Playoffs. So even though it’s early, this is a very important stretch in our season.

A lot of people thought that the West Coast trip was going to get us and we came back 3-3 from that trip. And we’re 4-1 in this stretch, so hopefully we can keep it going.

Being on the road like this, you come into all the arenas you’ve had history in. Different arenas have different effects on you.

For some people, it’s, ‘Hey, we’re in New York. Look who’s in the stands – I’m going to go out here and play well.’ Or you’re in L.A. or Miami or anyplace like that. Or some players go to a place like Milwaukee and they’ll say, ‘Man, I don’t know about this.’ It could be the lighting in the arena. It could be a dingy feeling where it just doesn’t wake you up.

Some of it is the crowd in the arena. Years ago, you’d go to Cleveland and there was like 4,000-5,000 fans there and you’re trying to play a basketball game and there’s no energy – no nothing.

Unfortunately, it’s a mentality. I don’t play well in the Palace – never have. And that’s always in the back of your mind. You’re thinking, ‘Man, can I just get one good game here.’

I’ve had some great games in Philly, and I think that’s because its home and I usually have family and friends in the stands. Personally, I’ve had some good games in Milwaukee. Toronto – as an opponent – I’ve had some great games. Minnesota’s always been good, and I think that’s because of stuff that went down when I was a rookie.

That’s the way it is when a team kind of treats you wrong. It fades after a while, but the first couple times back, you really want to stick it to them.