Larry Brown has seemingly coached everywhere, so the unsolicited comment was striking.
"I don't know if I've ever coached a team that shot it any better," Brown said yesterday, after his sixth practice running the Charlotte Bobcats.
Although Brown has lamented Charlotte's lack of depth in the frontcourt and has routinely criticized its defense in practice, the jumpers keep falling in training camp.
Jason Richardson, who led the NBA in 3-point baskets last season, hasn't lost his feathery touch. Point guard Raymond Felton, a career 40-percent shooter, has looked better from the outside. Rookie D.J. Augustin is making jumpers, too.
Then there's Matt Carroll, a deadeye 3-point threat who comes off the bench. Sean May has improved his range after missing all of last season with a knee injury. Adam Morrison is also a 3-point threat as he works his way back from knee surgery.
Brown said he had "no idea" he was inheriting such firepower when he began his record ninth head-coaching job in the NBA.
"I watched D.J. in college, I never thought of him as a shooter. And then you watch him (here)," Brown said. "Raymond, I think has improved his shooting over the course of his three years in the league. Jason, I always felt could shoot the ball, but he even shoots it better than I thought. Matt I felt could shoot, but he shoots it better than I thought. And Sean is a surprisingly good shooter."
The Bobcats have not been known for shooting that well. They shot 45 percent from the field last season, 17th in the league, and 37 percent from 3-point range, 12th out of 30 teams.
Brown said that the Bobcats can improve on that -- if the right people take the right shots.
"This team, I have to find that balance so I don't prohibit Adam, Matt and some of these guys, Jason, from taking shots," Brown said.
It doesn't mean Brown wants Charlotte to be a jump-shooting team. He has been getting on players for taking shots too early in the shot clock. And even though Richardson's 243 3-pointers last season were the fourth most in NBA history, he'd like to see Richardson drive to the basket more.
"With the way referees call fouls on the perimeter, if you can put it on the floor, it's a huge advantage, especially if you can shoot it outside," Brown said. "Then it will open up the court for us."
Still, Brown likes the shooting options, believing they're better than his Detroit team had when it won the NBA title, or his playoff teams in Philadelphia and Indiana.
Notes: Center Ryan Hollins and forward Andre Brown sat out the morning workout with groin injuries.... May also sat but was scheduled to practice in the evening as he slowly recovers from microfracture knee surgery.... Morrison has yet to miss a practice in his return from a torn anterior-cruciate ligament.... Brown said that 7-0 center Alexis Ajinca of France, the 20th pick in the draft, might play more than he anticipated.
after impressing this week. "By February he might be playing, and it might even be sooner," Brown said.
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