Victory in Charlotte

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

The key numbers in last night's victory were 12, 11, 10, 13, 10. 

These were the number of shot attempts by the starting five of Pierce,
Walker, Potapenko, Anderson, and Mercer. 

Walker in particular deserves credit, finally showing that he DOES have the
ability to distinguish between a good and bad shot attempt. Many people
have been after Walker for taking untimely three pointers, but any true
index of his poor shot selection would have to include the many times in
the past when he has forced up a shot resembling a shot-put attempt when
double- or even triple-teamed in the post. Again, to his credit, by my
count he only did this one time last night. Whatever the reason, Walker was
unbelievably unselfish - particularly in the first quarter when he
attempted only one shot (a wide-open three, which he drained). For those of
us looking for improvement in Walker's game, last night was a far more
hopeful development than the gaudier numbers he posted in Cleveland or
against Indiana. And it's about time, since if one stops to think about it,
Walker is probably the fifth best shooter out of the starting five, even if
one excludes his three-pointers. Now let's hope this trend continues.

The offense in general appeared to be much more diversified. There was far
more movement, particularly away from the ball. It looked to me as if
Pitino (and Walker) had finally unleashed Kenny's ability to distribute the
shots and run a pro offense, and as a result we got an offensive
performance reminiscent of the first few games Kenny played with the team
last year (before Kenny was shackled to the 'Kentucky playbook'?). The
success on offense allowed Pitino to run his trapping defense (with mixed
results) thereby permitting Pitino to dictate the tempo of the game. In
this instance at least, Kenny's abilities on offense directly contributed
to Pitino's implementation of his concept of trapping team defense.

Are the Cs out of the woods? Not by a long-shot. The key in the NBA is
consistency, and there's another test tonight against a Detroit team
already pumped-up by a road win in Atlanta. 

Are things looking up for the Cs? After last night, one has to conclude
that perhaps for the first time this season some of the chronic problems
associated with this team are finally being addressed. Let's see if that
continues to be the case tonight.

Best wishes

-Tom Murphy