When I first got to Toronto, we were last in defense, 20-something in offense, we were the laughing stock in the Eastern Conference.
Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn't feel I played very well. Very rarely was I satisfied with how I played.
I'm not worried about offense. I've always had that, but I can get better defensively and that in turn will make my offense better.
That's how you get better on defense; not just 'oh, man, my guy beat me,' but you have to think about, 'okay, my man beat me, so I either have to pick up the next man, or I'm going to give somebody a foul.
I realize I have to continue to work on defense. I think a lot of people have to work on defense.
Since 1946, the Cubs have had two problems: They put too few runs on the scoreboard and the other guys put too many. So what is the new management improving? The scoreboard.
I'm still going to have to go out and score, but defensively hopefully I can make them a little bit better.
It looks like our defense is quite a bit better than it has been in the last two years, ... If we can keep it up and stay at least in the middle of the league, that would be significant. We haven't ordered any championship rings yet; two games doesn't make a season. I love the Colorado air. I love the game, the competition, the show.
I really wasn't a good defensive player at all.
I've been trying to figure out what mistakes I'm making defensively as far as help defensive stuff.
I want to develop every base of my game-stealing bases, hitting, being a better fielder.
If we don't start playing better on defense, it's going to be hard. We can't just sit there and win shootouts.
We had a great preseason. The guys responded with what coach (George Karl) wanted early on in pace of the game, togetherness and defensive intensity. We've improved in those areas with a couple of setbacks, but we've improved each game.
I know, personally, people said a lot about what kind of defender I was. So I wanted to get better at it.
I'm a running coach and I am going to continue to run, but I would hope that we are better defensively.
Sometimes I relax on defense and not understand I can't do that. Night in and night out, you're playing some of the best point guards in the world. That's something I'm continuing to work on and continue to develop my lower body, get quicker and more explosive.
I have improved a lot, but I would like to improve more, to be better defensively and understand the play better.
I became a better talker on the floor, being at Duke, being in leadership with Coach K, and I think I got better defensively as the season progressed.
I thought we were aggressive across the board defensively, and you could just see it grow. As the game went along, you could see the confidence grow. It showed in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, hitting-wise, running the bases. There's always room to improve. That motivates me to get a little better every day.
I'm just getting a lot more opportunity than I got my second year in Phoenix. Here defensively with the Heat, I'm on a lot more tough defensive assignments. They trust me.
My Italian adventure was positive because I improved a lot in tactical terms, most of all defensively, which is something I hadn't worked on quite so much.
Going to Golden State, I really fine-tuned everything on defense, which is important because the NBA is moving away from standard bigs and going toward bigs that can switch and things like that.
I feel like I've improved immensely in terms of my defending, not only in one-versus-ones but also with my positioning.
I myself feel that I'm a well-rounded player and got a lot better defensively and without the puck as time has gone on.
