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MT: Do you have a different mind set heading into this season compared with last season?
McCants: For me, minutes, playing time and where I'm going to play aren't my focus. My focus is coming in here and making my team better every day. I think everything else speaks for itself. I think we have a great core of guys that can contribute to a stride towards the division title, but for the most part it's a statement year so my teammates know I can be a leader.

MT: Al Jefferson had similar things to say...
McCants: Definitely. Al and I spent a lot of time together (this offseason) and have a common goal. Last year we had some chemistry problems with our whole team being young, guys trying to find out where they were going to go and things like that. But this year we have already experienced that, and we had lots of bright spots last year where we beat a lot of good teams and played a lot of good teams close. We bring in new additions like Kevin Love and Mike Miller, and you have to watch out for us.