Hey, everyone. It’s Darnell, checking in with another installment of the D-Blog.

The second half of the road trip was kind of tough – taking it on the chin in Memphis and Houston. But we’ll bounce back when we get home and get on another run. That’s what we do.

It was nice to get some time on Wednesday, even if it was in the final minute of the game. I was able to hit the first three-pointer of my NBA career. Believe it or not, that’s actually something we work on.

After practice – me, Coach Lloyd, Coach Jent, Bryant Moore – we work on long-range shooting. The coaches run me through my normal drills and afterwards, the coaches have me shoot five threes from each spot.

When I got in the game, Red (Delonte West) said, ‘D-Block, get ready.’ And I said, “Get it to me, I’ll make it.” So he came down, I set the screen and when he drove, I peeled back for the shot and he got it back to me like he said he would. And I was able to make it. It felt really good.

I have to admit, I already had my mind made up on it. As soon as he said “Block,” I said “Alright.” I don’t know what it is between Delonte and me, but he can just give me a look when we’re running a play and he makes the play. That’s kind of what happened tonight, even though it was late in a loss.

Your long-range shot – especially that shot for a big man – takes time to develop. But every day I work with the coaches and it’s just the same as it is in practice. I shot a couple in college, and I think I made a couple. But I didn’t want to shoot too many to mess my shooting percentage up.

Being in my second year, I’m still learning how the NBA goes. I just try to keep myself in shape and whether we’re winning or losing, I need to stay ready.

It gets frustrating. And any guy who says he doesn’t get frustrated with not playing, they’re lying. It gets frustrating out there. You see things aren’t going right and you think you can go out there and help. But you just have to wait your turn.

The coaches are always telling me: keep trucking down stop. And I’m not going to. I’m going to keep my foot on the gas and go full-throttle. And I’ll be ready to go if they need me – especially when we roll into my hometown – Oklahoma City – this weekend.  

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.   

Hey, Cavalier fans! It's Darnell Jackson, with a little pre-Camp post for the D-Blog ...

It's been an extremely busy summer for me, and I'm really glad to be back in Cleveland, getting ready to roll at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Basically, when the playoffs were over, I stayed here with Coach Mel for about a week. After that, I went home to Oklahoma City for a week. Then we had Summer League in Vegas, then I went home for two days, then went back to Vegas for Grg's (Tim Grgurich's) summer camp. (This was my second time; I was sick for the first two days last year.) Finally, I went to China for a week. It was a 13-hour flight, but it was good; I had a lot of fun over there.

In China, it was me, Ron Artest, Jason Kidd and Dikembe Mutombo. We just went over there traveling to different cities - Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou - to promote our new shoe, PEAK.  They took us out the night we got there. It was a great time.

I lost about 15 pounds over the summer, and I'm sure some of those pounds are still in China. The food over there was so healthy and fresh. But by the third day I said, 'I can't do it anymore.' And I saw a Pizza Hut. There was a plaza with Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway and McDonald's. So I ate Pizza Hut one day and McDonald's the next. (Man, it tasted so good!) I had, like, three double-cheeseburgers and some fries.

But I also got some conditioning at the Great Wall of China. It was an incredible experience - to read about it in high school and college and then to have the opportunity to walk it. When I got up there I was like "Wow!"

When I went back home to Oklahoma City, like always, my phone was blowing up. But I like it because I like being around everybody - my friends and my cousins. Sometimes, my uncle will let me take the jet-skis out.  And we'll take them out on the lake or barbeque out. I love it.

Other than that, when I'm in OK City, I always go to the Boy's and Girl's Club. We had a big pizza party for them, gave all the kids backpacks and did a "Read to Achieve" event. They're kids who really need it.

I look into the crowd and I see ... me.  Growing up as a kid in the U.S. is tough anywhere, and if you don't have a role model in your life or a big brother or big sister, it can be even tougher, just trying to learn on your own. So I always try to be there for them and support Big Brothers and Sisters.

Speaking of "big", I was in Oklahoma when I heard about Shaq coming to Cleveland. I was really excited. A lot of rookies - (or I should say "young players" since I'm not a rookie anymore) - don't ever have a chance to say 'I played with LeBron James' or 'I played with Ben Wallace or Shaquille O'Neal.' Now we're getting one of the greatest post players of all time on our team. And I'll get to learn from and go to work with this guy every day.  It's crazy!

I've only talked to Shaq once before, last year when the Suns came to Cleveland. We talked for a little bit in the weight room, and he told me, 'You're doing a great job, having a good rookie year. Keep pushing. You have to feed your family, so don't take anything for granted.' And I said I definitely wouldn't.

I'm learning from all the veterans. As a second-year guy, I could say I know what it takes and yet, I don't know what it takes. There's a lot to this game and this is only my second year. The only thing I can do is keep learning. I've learned some parts of the game, but I don't know everything. That's why I'm out there, working hard with those guys.

The way last season ended, well ... we can't control what happened. All we can do is make sure we come back this season with a chip on our shoulders. And that's all I've been looking forward to - getting back on the floor and going to work. 

Hey guys! It's Darnell, checking in with another installment of the D-Blog ...

I know everyone's a little nervous, and that's cool. But the guys in this locker room aren't ready to be done just yet.

I hate to lose, and I know everyone on this team hates to lose. After Tuesday's loss, I felt kind of sick to my stomach. The flight was really quiet. And I just think when the guys are quiet, we're thinking about what went wrong, what we could have done better, and what we're going to do better in the next game.

To me, I think we just need to dig down deep inside - find what's inside of us - and get back to playing together as a team. We need to get back to what got us here from Day One - playing together, moving the ball, sharing the ball and knocking down shots. Our shots aren't falling right now, but I think things could turn around. I think the clock will turn around.

I think the key to getting this series turned around is just hitting those guys first.

Watching the last couple game against the Magic - they come out with a big bang with Dwight. It seems like they come out to Dwight first and it helps them get momentum. It's something about Orlando, that they come out ready. And we need to do the same thing: Come out ready, stay focused and have the mindset that we're going to hit these guys in the mouth first and make them back down.

I understand Coach Brown will do the right thing as far as playing guys, but I would love to be out there. I would enjoy banging with them; get out there and play against one of the best big men to play this game.

I know it'll take time, but I would enjoy going out there - being physical with a guy like Dwight. That's what I love to do - play physical and play against great players.

I think the mindset is good today. Just being around these guys as much as I have, I know they're totally focused on the next game. You never know what's going to happen until that last five minutes of the game. So, you have to take one day at a time, one practice at a time - like Coach Brown says.

These guys want it. They've been fighting since the first day of Training Camp - talking about the Finals, winning the Championship and bringing it back to Cleveland. And now, there's only one way to do that.