Adam Morrison is not your typical rookie gunner. "He's not shooting enough,'' complains Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff. "He's got the shots and we want him to shoot more, but I think he's trying to bring his teammates into the play.''
His teammates must like that.
"They want him to shoot also,'' Bickerstaff responds.
Through four games Morrison was the Bobcats' No. 3 scorer with 15 points a game off the bench, though he was shooting just 37.3 percent from the field. Morrison admits he is adapting to the speed of the NBA game, but it's a normal growth curve: Elders like Ray Allen will tell him that they too were forced to develop a quicker shot release as NBA rookies.
"It is something I need to work on, coming off screens and being able to shoot,'' says Morrison, referring to the speed of NBA defenders. "I could do it in college at my own pace. But here sometimes I thought I wasn't open but the coaching staff thought I was, that I had plenty of time to shoot.'' In other words, Morrison needs to develop a quicker trigger.
It's a sure thing that he will, because Morrison is too aggressive and competitive to not adapt. He isn't shy either. In the third quarter of Charlotte's 110-108 overtime loss Wednesday at Boston, Morrison clapped his hands for the ball at the three-point line but was ignored by point guard Brevin Knight. "Hey!'' cried Morrison. Without looking at him, Knight pointed in Morrison's direction to let him know he would get the ball next time.
The most disappointing aspect is that Morrison isn't weaving and cutting more often without the ball; instead he has spent a lot of time spotting up from the three-point line. He struggled to a 2-for-11 performance Wednesday, but instead of forcing shots he drove his way to the foul line for the bulk of his 12 points.
"They just tell me to put it up when I'm open,'' Morrison says. "When I feel comfortable I'm going to let it fly. But I think it's a team game and we've got good players, and I'm not going to come here and be one of those prima donna-type guys that demands his shots and is bitching and all that. I'm just trying to do what's best for the team.''
Counters Bickerstaff: "He's got to shoot the basketball, it's that simple. Probably the most difficult thing coming into this game is knowing when and when not to. If you're open, you're raising your teammates' play by making the shot.''