Kyrie Irving chatted with the media about adjusting to playing in the NBA, where his comfort levels with his new teammates are and his connection with Tristan Thompson.

Dwane Casey chatted with the media about Amir Johnson’s heart, what kind of role Linas Kleiza will have when he returns to the court, how tough it is to guard Deron Williams and the city embracing the team after their strong start to the season.

Avery Johnson took some time to talk with the media tonight about MarShon Brooks’ rookie season, the importance of having Kris Humphries back in the starting line-up and he shared his disdain for Paul Wesphal being fired in Sacramento.

Here’s the audio of my chat with Justin Hull last night on “The Home Stretch.” Some of the topics we covered included the turmoil in Sacramento, Toronto’s improvement on the defensive end, if Dwight Howard will get traded and Andrew Bynum’s problems parking his car.

We’re only six games into the season and already the attitude on the defensive end has undergone a seismic shift. Toronto has ranked at the bottom of the NBA in team defense for the past two seasons, but so far this season Toronto is holding teams to 91.5 points per game (seventh in the NBA) and holding teams to a .398% shooting percentage (first in the NBA). A vast improvement from last season when teams averaged 105.4 points (26th in the NBA) and .483% from the field (16th).

DeMar DeRozan’s confidence levels are soaring higher than his vertical jump. And, an in ironic twist, his newfound confidence and swagger has very little with his ability to attack the rim. Instead, it has to do with his newfound stroke from beyond the arc.

DeMar DeRozan talked with media about his 3-point shot, how high his confidence is right now and the growth this team has shown so far this season.

Dwane Casey chatted with the media about DeMar DeRozan’s outside shot opening up the spacing for the entire team, Andrea Bargnani playing at an All-Star level, being impressed with Jose Calderon winning a championship this summer for Spain and the team doing a great job of closing out on defensive possessions.

Tristan Thompson chatted with the media about playing his first NBA game in Toronto, playing for Canada in the 2012 Olympics, adjusting to playing in the NBA, the next wave of Canadian players who are about to play in the NBA, what veterans on the team he is learning from, and a host of other topics.

Indiana may not be the sexy pick to come out of the Eastern Conference, but with a well-balanced roster, depth at every position and some star players sprinkled into the mix, they are easily one of the stronger teams in their conference. Not many teams around the NBA are going to want to go into battle against a team that crashes the glass and wants to play smashmouth basketball likes Indiana intends to do.