Being out for so long was incredibly frustrating

After I hit my head against the Pelicans on opening night, I didn’t really feel that bad. I struggled to sleep a little because I was battling a headache, but I thought everything would be fine the next day.

Then I woke up with all of the symptoms of a concussion, which meant that I wasn’t allowed on the road trip and couldn’t play. The next task was to do everything possible to get cleared by the medical staff. That wasn’t forthcoming because I couldn’t pass the physical exertion protocol — every time I’d get my heart rate up I started to feel dizzy and nauseous.

Basically, I was sent home and had to wait a few days before trying again. It took a lot longer than expected.

I’ve never had a genuine concussion before — the closest I ever came was about five seasons ago where I just missed a game after taking a knock and had to miss it due to NBA protocol.

MORE: Bogut: Bring on a new season

It was actually pretty scary, compared to the other injuries I’ve faced. With the other ones, you know what you have to do to return from a knee, or an ankle, and day-to-day you feel better with rest or strengthening it.

With a concussion, there’s no clear way of knowing how to improve the condition. Doctors can’t provide an exact answer as to how long it’ll take, and everyone has a different opinion on what is right and wrong with the recovery process. I felt like I was walking around in a cloud.

I felt like a kid being back out on court

I didn’t feel too bad in my return. Obviously, my conditioning has fallen off a little bit, but not as bad as I thought considering I hadn’t done much in two weeks.

I was excited to be back out there and a part of the team. We’ve had a successful start to the year so it’s hard to sit and watch the guys, especially with the way we are playing! Just being out there playing made me feel like a little kid again.

Festus has done a tremendous job for us so far, and I genuinely believe that he’ll be a full-time starter in this league.

He was a project pick for us who’s really become a focal point now. The work that he has put into his game has been amazing, and the physical presence that he brings on the court is really important.

To have both of us playing at centre as a tag team is a good weapon to have. Against the Pistons, it really helped us when facing Andre Drummond. Toward the end of the game, you could see that he was getting a little fatigued.

The decision made to have me come off the bench was to do with the flow of the team. I missed nearly two weeks, and in that time, the team has been rolling. There were some question marks around my conditioning, and it’s important not to disrupt the momentum and synchronicity of the team.

Whether I start later on in the season, or I come off the bench, it’s totally up to the coaches and I’m sure they’ll make the right decision.

If we all come in, and all execute our roles, this team doesn’t care who hits the winning shot, or who scores the most. We just want to win games.

There’ll still be a few more games that need to be played before the coaching staff considers the decision, and make the call on who they want to start.

I’ve been a starter my whole career, but I’m prepared to do whatever it takes for the team.

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Steph has had a ridiculous start to the season

Steph has probably never come out from the jump of the season like this before. He’s confidence is at an all-time high right now.

Some of the shots that he is taking and making, are truly unbelievable. They’re even a step up from what he did last season.

The issue he’s faced over the last two games is that guys are trying to get into him, hold him, grab him, and do whatever possible to disrupt him.

At Sacramento, Rondo was trying to get into him and hold him off the ball, and then Caldwell-Pope did a pretty good job on him in our last game, but he still got his points.

Guys are really trying to step up for that matchup now — they don’t want to get embarrassed or go onto YouTube and see a Curry highlight!

The role that Draymond, Festus, Harrison and myself share is to get him the ball as often as possible in the right spots. Not just by passing the ball, but setting good screens to create that separation to give him room from the guys that are trying to be more physical with him.

I caught up with an old friend against the Pistons

It was nice seeing Baynesy the other night!

He’s a physical matchup, and he’s tough to check down low, so it was nice to go toe-to-toe.

He’s coming off an offseason where he had some issues that he needed to fix with his body, and I think he’s still trying to find his way in Detroit.

He hasn’t fully settled in yet, but he’ll definitely get there. I spoke to a couple of their assistant coaches who used to be with us three or four years ago, and they love Baynesy!

They said that he’s exactly what they need, they love his professionalism and how he works hard every day. I don’t think anyone is worried about him, he’ll eventually find his confidence and a way to fit in.

Coming from San Antonio and such a strict system, it’s tough to leave that and then instantly fit in somewhere else.

There was a possession where he was a little bit in front of me running down the floor, and we were holding onto each other a little bit, and I gave him a quick grab just to catch up. I hadn’t played for two weeks, so I had to make sure that he didn’t beat me down the floor!

Drummond was a tough matchup; he’s made a strong start this season

Andre Drummond is very athletic, he can get up and down the floor, plus he’s also strong. What’s really helped him has been Greg Monroe leaving, meaning that he doesn’t have another big guy in the paint next to him.

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He has that whole paint area to work, and then has Ilyasova and Tolliver next to him bombing threes, and Reggie Jackson attacking the basket.

They’ve improved out of sight, and if they make the playoffs, a big reason for their rise will be Andre Drummond.