Time to Get Busy

Hey, everyone! It’s Donyell, checking in once again …

I hope everybody’s New Year is off to a good start. I’m close to being able to get back to action and I’m really looking forward to it. I actually could have been back by now but, on our recent trip to Toronto, I woke up on Sunday morning and my finger was sore. I went to sleep that night, woke up and had the chills – sweating and stuff like that – woke up Monday morning, looked down, and my finger was infected.

So I had to go to the doctor’s on Monday and get the infection cut out. I don’t even know how I got it. The doctors took a swab of it and the tests came back negative. So, right now, I’m on antibiotics. So we’re waiting for the infection to get done before I start practicing again.

I had actually started practicing, the wrist was feeling good and I was planning on coming back this week or next week sometime. That was before the infection. The infection obviously set me back a little bit, but I’ve been cleared to practice again, so now it’s just a matter of getting a couple practices in and waiting for Coach to feel that he’s comfortable to let me get in.

Physically, the wrist was fine. We had a 20-minute scrimmage with a running clock. Obviously, I was a little winded. I’ve been doing cardio, but it’s nothing like being on the court. So right now, it’s just a matter of getting up and down and getting some shots in game action – at game speed. Obviously, my shot feels good when I’m by myself, with no defenders. So now it’s just a matter of getting some contact going and getting some up-and-down action.

I actually fell during that 20-minute scrimmage and I protected my arm a little bit. But that’s the main reason why I need to practice and fall on it a couple times and get hit – because I can’t go out into the game and worry about it. If I do that, I’ve already lost half the battle. If I’m worried about an injury, I’m not going to play to my full potential.

We’ve been winning and I know Coach Brown is happy with the rotation he has now. How I’m going to fit into that rotation is something I need to sit down and talk to Mike about. Obviously, we’ve been playing good ball lately, and it’s easier to bring someone into the rotation when you’re struggling. So I’m not going to sit here and demand 15-20 minutes a game right away. But obviously, when I come back, I’m going to want to play. But that’s not my call.

I haven’t had a chance to talk to Mike about my situation yet. I don’t know if that’s something he does with every player, but I think it’s something that, personally, as a player – if you want to know, it’s something you have to go find out for yourself. I want to know, because I want to be able to stay ready.

Overall, my job – when I come back – is just to help this team in whatever way I can.

Going through some of the stuff I did last year – and also sitting on the bench at the start of this year – has given me the chance to see things differently. And it’ll be something I’ll sit down and talk to Mike about. Even if I come back and I’m ready to play and Coach feels that he’s not necessarily ready to play me yet because of the rotation, I might even sit out a little longer. Obviously, we have the Injured List and I could continue to be on that. There’s a lot of things to take into account.

On a personal level, I’m very close to returning. But the team is the most important thing, here.

I see myself fitting in different situations within the rotation. I think if you look at the way we’ve played a couple of these games – when you look at LeBron out there leading the point and Andy in there sometimes at the five – I see myself playing the role of the big man who can spread the floor.

I think right now, it’s probably something we’re really missing – especially late in games. And I think that’s where I’ll be able to come in and help this team.

We were disappointed that we dropped Wednesday’s game in Atlanta. But I think if you look at some of those games we did win – like the Toronto game, for example – we had to come back and win those games. And a couple of those games we had to have LeBron take over in the fourth quarter. And you can’t count on that all the time.

And as a team, we can’t always wait until the fourth quarter to make a run. We have to come out and play right from the opening tip. You know the way it works. It’s no different than in any sport. You get a team that’s down – like the Hawks were – and you give them a little confidence, a lot of the shots they normally don’t make, they start making.

Plus, teams scout us, too. They know the fourth quarter is LeBron Time, so they’re going to try to do things that will take the ball out of LeBron’s hand.

Really, I think the biggest key is not to wait until the fourth quarter and try to do it all.

Another problem we’ve been having – and have had in the three years that I’ve been here – has been the third quarter. And we don’t really know why. We need to pick it up as a team. It’s something we know about and we’ve tried different things. We’ve tried to get out earlier after halftime and get some shots up or do warm-up lines. We’ve tried all kinds of things. It’s just, for some reason, our third quarters have been trouble.

But, all in all, as a team I think we’re feeling good. We’re 18-18, and you look at the situations we’ve had this year – with Sasha and Andy and their contract situations. Sasha came back when the season was already started and was behind. Andy came in two months into the season and he was behind. You have my injury, Larry’s injury, E-Snow’s injury. LeBron missed games.

To be 18-18 is not where we want to be, but we’re still right there. If the Playoffs started today, we’d be the 7th seed, but we’re only three our four wins from being the 3rd or 4th seed. All it takes is another run.

We win five or six more games in a row and we’re there. You’re going to drop a few – you’re not always going to win 10 in a row. I think the key is that, at 18-18, you’re pretty much starting from zero. So we start from here and now we have to knuckle down, win six or seven in a row and if we lose, we lose one or two. Then go back and win five or six.

Easier said then done, but in reality, that’s how we’re going to get back into the thick of things.