What's up, everybody? It's Darnell, checking in with another installment of the D-Blog.

It's hard to believe we're already in the second week of the season. But here we are and it feels good.

I haven't gotten too much playing time so far this year, but I'm cool. I'm definitely not getting frustrated. I'm on a great team with great players. All I can do is keep working hard and when my time comes, it'll come. And it's going to be great when it comes. You never really know when your time is going to be. It could be in a couple years, next year or next week. I'll be ready when it does.

We practice hard here at the Cleveland Clinic Courts. And after practice we almost always get into a good pick-up game. Teams are always the same. It's always me, Coach Lloyd (Pierce), Coach B-Moore (Bryant Moore), Jawad (Williams) and Danny (Green). The other squad is Coach (Chris) Jent, Coach Melvin Hunt, (team assistant) Jordy, J.J. (Hickson) and Coby Karl.

Let's just say my team is undefeated. We can't be stopped in five-on-five, pick-up. No way.

I always battle J.J. in those pick-up games. Basically, we want to push each other. We work on our moves; basically, the same thing we do in practice. (Except you get more shots.)

We try not to get down on ourselves - if we don't play or we play and just get a few minutes. All we can do is keep working hard. That's how you get better. And we work hard against each other, even in pick-up games. You can't get better by not going hard against somebody. You have to compete.

This year, there's only one rookie - Danny Green. He's a great guy. The other day, he brought his new "DJ Hero" game into the locker room. I was messing around with it.

He plays that. I don't play that stuff. I'm a PS-3 guy. I'll stick with NBA 2K-10 and football. (I'm either the Saints or the Vikings. Adrian Peterson - the man's a real-life Transformer!)

Yeah, Danny likes Guitar Hero and DJ hero. I don't have time to be sitting there learning how to be a D.J. - (even though my initials are DJ). I can't get into all that, though I was messing around with the turntable the other day.

On the other end of the spectrum, there's Shaq. Being around him has been such a great experience. He just calls me "Block." Every time they play a song during the game, he'll come over and just say "Block" - and then he'll start rapping or dancing. He's a great guy and it's great to have a guy like that on the team. That's a living legend right there.

From the young guys to the older guys, this team has great chemistry again. It's as good or better than last year.

I think that's what will take us to the championship. A team with great chemistry and great players who are willing to share the ball and doesn't care who gets the headlines, that's always a good recipe.

We all have to help each other out. If LeBron's out there doing his work - it's our job to help and support him. When Mo does his thing - we support him. And it just goes down the line like that. Coach stresses that - every day in practice and it's something we truly believe in. And we hope it'll result in that Trophy at the end of the year.

Hey, guys! It's Darnell, checking in with the season's first D-Blog ...

Training Camp starts today and I'm ready to get after it. I know it's my second Camp and I'm not a rookie anymore. But, truthfully, I don't feel like a "vet" just yet. Not even close. I have a lot of things, a lot of obstacles to go through - the same things our real vets have gone through. They've been doing it for a long time. And I'm trying to be where they're at right now.

We had some turnover and there are some new faces this year. But I think the chemistry will be just as good.

It starts from Coach Brown. It always does. He always comes out here and talks about trust and chemistry. You have to trust in each other to build great chemistry. And that's what we'll do again this year. Our chemistry is going to be unbelievable.

We'll be all-business on the floor, but With LeBron and Shaq, it really is going to be fun around here. And just being around Mario (Jamario Moon) - man, that guy is a clown. He's a clown! And you've got A.P. (Anthony Parker), who's so laid-back. I just look forward to this season. But like last year - Anderson was talking about it earlier - it's going to be one day at a time to get this thing done.

In my last blog, I wrote about meeting Shaq for the first time. It was when Phoenix was in town. He said, 'I know you ain't playing much, but you're doing your job. And your teammates see that. You always have to remember. This is your job and you have to feed your family. Always remember that.'

And I always will.

As a young ballplayer, sometimes it's tough not to be star-struck every day that I come to work with these guys. I grew up, back in high school and college, watching these guys on TV or playing with them on a video game. Now I'm here with them every day. I don't take anything for granted.

Seeing the guys working out here and all together on Media Day, I think everybody's ready to go. We're ready to start training our minds and our bodies - going through the plays, going through the drills. Making sure everybody's legs are strong and healthy.

I feel much better this year. Over the offseason, I dropped about 15 pounds, and I can feel it.

I went about a month without beef, fried chicken, all that stuff. I tried to eat turkey, grilled chicken. And I stayed away from the sweets. (Sweets was a big one.) Instead of pop, I drank Gatorade. And I toned it up a little bit. And I'm going to keep doing the same thing.

Now, we're back - playing ball and going at it, 24-7. And it'll be a lot easier for me to keep dropping, keep dropping, and keep lifting.

And that'll be it from today, tomorrow and about every day for the next few months.