Kenny Anderson

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

I checked the stats for Anderson after he mentioned that he had been
shooting really well recently. Over the last 10 games, including 
Charlotte tonight, he's averaged 13.4 ppg and 4.3 apg, on 63% shooting
from the field. He really is shooting the ball very well. Most of his
offense is coming from penetration or from catch-and-shoot opportunities.
He's moving better without the ball which is something that Pitino said
that he wanted Kenny to work on and it's getting him good shots in the
flow of the offense that involve the other players. Tonight he had a 
very impressive game with 22 points, 7 assists, and 0 turnovers, and
hitting the three that put the game away.

Walker had another very good game that wasn't completely reflected in
the box score. 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists. The 6 rebounds is a
bit deceptive because neither team was missing enough shots for anyone
to get a lot of rebounds. He was playing unselfishly and not taking 
bad shots (unless you think that any 3 by Antoine is bad). 

The Celtics were an offensive juggernaut for the first three quarters,
shooting about 70% from the field. Pierce had a monster first half but
disappeared during the second half. Mercer had a nice efficient game
since he didn't need to carry the team's offense with everyone else 
doing so well.

Anderson said after the game that something that motivated him was 
that David Wesley had talked trash to him during the previous game,
and also that Wesley had disparaged Pitino! He is really not sounding
like someone who hates the coach. Every time I've heard him recently, 
he comes across to me as a mature veteran who's focused on the team.
This could all be an act but I think the truth is probably that all
the talk about Anderson being disgruntled is speculation on the part
of reporters who are trying to cash in on the Pitino-bashing frenzy.

Alex