I got a little spoiled at the Double-A level, where the team you get is the team you'll probably have for the rest of the year, ... You want to win, but we're here to develop players.

He just totally raises the bar for our team. We've got guys doing things they probably wouldn't normally be able to do because of him pushing everyone. He's definitely a rare gem.

It has taken stealth and some underhandedness. It has taken clarity of purpose when the moment called for dreamy abandon. He has practised withdrawal.

[Before], half the team probably didn't like each other. Now, everybody's always with each other.

They just double-team so hard. At times they would just take the ball away from me. I couldn't see the weak side to find that open man. We know we can play. We have learned from the experience of playing without McGrady and know we can still compete.

This is a high-level group, which is probably why I know so few of you.