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00:00cross? I mean, just to have a great approach and a great mentality and be
00:06prepared for war, you know, metaphorically, right? Just, you know, it's
00:11the hardest, most difficult time to win ballgames because, you know, you know the
00:17other team well, you know, their tendencies, their habits, and after game
00:21one is pretty much adjustments and just go into the internal kind of layer where
00:31you're just trying not to get too ahead of yourself, you're trying to take
00:34one game at a time, one minute at a time, so you just got to be balanced, stay
00:38focused, limit the distractions, and just do what you've been doing since you were
00:42a kid and have fun doing it. So our young guys will be prepared, but until they go
00:48through it, they won't have any idea what it's like, so I'm excited for them
00:51and to be alongside them, to lead them, you know. So I had that in my first
00:57playoff series when we were playing against the Celtics when I was 24, so my first game went
01:02pretty well. We won and, you know, I just look at look back at those moments to use
01:06them as examples for the young guys, so just it's nothing to be nervous about.
01:10We've been playing basketball our whole lives. We ended the season really well, so we
01:13have confidence going into the playoffs and just got to err on the side of that.
01:18Do you get nervous anymore in big games?
01:20Yeah, I guess I'm nervous, yeah, but I think I do my best to transmute it into a
01:25strength and just allow it to not, allow it to drive me instead of consume me,
01:30because in the past I've definitely been very anxious, very nervous for games and
01:35it could get the best of me mentally.
01:37How are you feeling game seven in 2016 heading into that shot?
01:41Man, just right moment, right time, great move. Yeah, just one of those historical
01:47moments that I was poised and ready for. This is what me and my dad used to
01:51practice in the backyard pretty often and that's what I really take my mind to in
01:56those moments and playoff series, just going one-on-one, imagining myself going
01:59against some of the greatest of all time and I like the challenge for our first
02:05series going against, you know, for future Hall of Famers and getting a chance to
02:09see where we stack up. That's really exciting.
02:13We've seen you hit shots like that this season. You think about the Nuggets game
02:16and that insane lefty. What makes you successful in those clutch moments?
02:22It's just the trust in the basketball gods, as they say. Really just trust in
02:26the preparation and, you know, I think you guys have heard me say it throughout
02:30the season, just the hours that no one sees, you know, the 12.30 lifts at night,
02:34the 1 a.m. lifts, waking up early, stretching, just doing all the things
02:39necessary to make sure I'm taking care of myself mentally, spiritually, emotionally
02:42and physically and just going on about my day and letting basketball be a
02:47release and a creative expression and also a healthy challenge for me to raise
02:52the bar every single time I go out there.
02:55Can you compare where this team is right now entering the playoffs to any of the
03:00other teams that you've been in? Is this team playing better going into the
03:04playoffs than any other team you've been a part of?
03:05Nah, man. Comparisons are the thief of joy, especially when you're trying to
03:08compare teams because you play with so many different great players. But, you
03:12know, for me, it's my first 50 win season or in six years, so I don't take that
03:17for granted. It took a long time to get here. I know what it feels like to fail
03:21for the past six years and not reach, you know, our team goals, our individual
03:26goals. So I use that energy to get me prepared for what's coming and just let
03:31the controllables be controlled and then, you know, be prepared for kind of the
03:36unknown and just dig deep into that will that I have inside to lead some of these
03:40guys and also let them lead me because I'm going to need a lot of help in these
03:44series, too.
03:45So you're going into your first postseason with Luka Doncic as his
03:49teammate. What does that mean to you and what have you guys talked about what
03:53this time means for you guys to be able to help lead this team?
03:56It's exciting. I think we know what we're both capable of. I think you have
04:03seen it throughout this season where we really raise our level in big games,
04:06going against some of the greatest players in our league, and we want to be
04:09challenged by the best. And I think that's the championship pedigree you
04:13need, the integrity you need of just welcoming all challengers and, you know,
04:18just letting basketball be basketball. And again, the most important thing is
04:22just limited distractions. Don't bring in extra stuff to the court. And, you
04:25know, at the end of that 48 minutes and it's just one game, you know, not use
04:30the first of four. So we just got to take it one day at a time.