It's not just passing, I gotta play defense, I gotta rebound, I gotta talk, I could have 40 and not talk and not bring energy. But it's just trying to have an all-around game, just trying to be the leader I can be, get the pace up.
The 3-point line has changed the game so much. The day of the big man, unless you're extraordinary good, is not numbered, but certainly you gotta be a lot more versatile to play the game today. You gotta be able to really run up and down the court.
I look at the game like, 'How can I impact it not just standing there?' Just try to be active offensively setting screens, doing stuff like that, but I'm also trying to be active driving the ball to the hole, finishing, one-dribble pull-ups and stuff like that. Just playing ball and not being robotic. Just evolving.
I come from playing sports. I compete, so I gotta be better than I was last year. I gotta get better, and that better gotta come from just growing. From learning new stuff to working on it, experience it in life, and failing.
I like to go on stage with a variety, with some stuff that's been around for a handful of years, some stuff from the last year, some stuff is from last week, and some stuff is brand spanking new. Those are the moments that excite me - when I'm coming up to a brand new bit. The more virgin the snow, the more fun it is to run on.
I'm never trying to be commercial or accessible, or saying "let's do this weird stuff, but at the same time we gotta do this safe stuff".
You've gotta play a head game; especially blocking shots, you've gotta make it hard. You're playing against the best of the best: they're not gonna go straight to the basket, do a layup. You've gotta lure them into some shots.
In a great horror movie, you've gotta have some character development and you've gotta set some of your people up and you've gotta have a little back story going. You've gotta take that time for exposition.
I think it was good, we wanted to win no matter if it was 1-0 or 8-2, we got to win. The Russians are a great team, but so are we. So we've gotta prepare the way we can and play the way we can tomorrow. I think that every game, every practice together we've continue to get better. It's tough in these short tournaments you gotta bond quickly and you've gotta have good chemistry; so hopefully now we can build on that and keep going.
The thing about new things is you feel new when you buy them, you feel as though you are somebody different because you own something different. We are our possessions, you know. There are people who get addicted to buying new stuff. Things. Piles and piles of things. But the new things become old things so quickly. We need new things to replace the old things.
We need a plague. It's gotta happen. And don't worry, it's only gonna kill the weak. Seriously. Put on a sweater, take some vitamins, you're gonna be fine! We gotta let mother nature do her
thing, man. She keeps trying to help us out and we won't let her do it.
There's nothing like doing in-game stuff that you can't get from drills. You're guarding somebody, you're reacting, you're getting a rebound and trying to go straight back up with it.
I'm not a guy that's going to shoot 10 3s a game - I like to get to the basket. But some of those shots I do gotta take. Some of those shots I gotta let fly.
I'd like to do a lot of different stuff. I think it's important as a creative person to keep challenging yourself and keep doing new stuff. If you end up trying to repeat yourself it's death. It just becomes boring and takes the passion out of it. You gotta find stories and characters that you really want to hang out with.
I'm 14 years in the game, ... There's some kids that weren't even born when my first album came out. I wanted to draw a timeline between my old stuff and my new stuff and bridge it to where there's a level of continuity.
You gotta be the right size, height, speed - all those are a big factor in what position you play. If you love the game, play the position you love. Some positions get paid more, but at the end of the day you gotta play the game you love.