But great individual talent isn't what wins games in the NBA. The guys have to all be on the same page to win. I'm not sure they had that last season.

We were one rebound away from winning, for really turning it into a series.

A shorter rotation is to be expected. Every team and every coach does that. Every team wants its seven or eight best out there.

My role is come off the bench, run the team and do whatever I have to do to keep us flowing, ... With Gilbert, myself and Antonio, we pretty much have three guys who can run the point but all of us can also can penetrate and get to the basket or create shots for our teammates.

Any time you can hold a team like that on defense, it makes the game easier for everybody. We count on the defense to make plays. That's what's going to win us games in the playoffs. We just have to keep playing hard and finish games and we'll have a chance.

The second quarter was the difference. Our second unit gave us great energy to open the second quarter. When this team gets in sync quick and we're locking down on defense, it creates a lot more opportunities on the other end for us.