Passing is contagious. There's nothing better than making the pass that gives someone an easy hoop.

Kobe enjoys that situation. Stepping up and making the big basket or being involved in a key play.

There's always room for improvement. We have a nucleus that's pretty good. You want players that will help.

Good teams beat you with speed. Great teams beat you with spacing and timing.

When I was a little kid I used to play with guys twice my age, so, I was the last one picked, so if I picked I knew that I had to get the ball to the scorer if I wanted to stay on the court, so that was pretty much my job.

I also play a little bit of Tiger Woods once in awhile. Get on the golf course there, and pretend that I'm beating him.

There are many really good teams in our conference this season. Miami, Indiana and Detroit will be our fiercest opponents this year. But we just have to focus on our game and be patient with the realistic hope that we'll be on top after all is said and done.