It was a little stiff, but it started to loosen up as the game went on. It just didn't feel right (not to play). I didn't want anybody to think I was giving up on my team, the fact that we were losing a lot of games.

My hands loosen up. My hands use to be so stiff. They loosen up. He's very good.

That's where things started wrong. Guys came in here worried about themselves instead of the team. And it never got better. Guys were worried about playing time because of their contract situation and never got into the team concept. You could see it in guys' faces.

Yeah, we knew we'd go a little longer than we did in the first game, but I don't think anybody thought we'd go that much. I played [32] minutes, which is a little long for a preseason game, but we had to.

It started out a little stiff, which is normal, but it felt great out there getting up and down and jumping and shooting as though I was never injured. I'll tell you what: I really believe I'm coming back more explosive because of the correctional exercises the trainers have me doing and just the way I go about working out.

They're built to win a championship. That's probably the best starting five in the league, and Alonzo Mourning is your backup center? You can't make very many mistakes against a team like that.