[外電] EARLY APPREHENSION
原文出自nola.com
http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/11001609618350.xml
EARLY APPREHENSION
The Hornets have myriad concerns about their play and can
only trust they'll be corrected in the long run.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
By John Reid
Staff writer
It's a young season, but already Hornets guard Baron Davis
has experienced a new first in his career.
The Hornets, losers of their first four games, are off to
their worst start since the 1989-1990 season.
"I don't like losing, but I'm just going to keep my mouth
closed because there isn't much to discuss," Davis said.
But there is plenty to be corrected, starting with rebounding.
Failure to box out has caused the Hornets to be outrebounded
in their past three games.
Secondly, in three of the team's four games, it has not received
much help from its bench. Only reserve forward Lee Nailon and
backup guard Darrell Armstrong attacked the basket and took
shots in Tuesday's 106-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at
New Orleans Arena. Playing in his first game of the season,
Nailon scored 10 points in 13 minutes.
The team has struggled to perfect several other facets of the
game stressed by Coach Byron Scott in practice.
The Hornets continue to have glaring defensive breakdowns, from
not hustling enough to contest perimeter shots to players not
communicating when they've been beaten on a driving shot.
Those breakdowns have led to a few sensational games for
opponents. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored 31 points Tuesday.
In Saturday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, guard Latrell
Sprewell scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth quarter,
mainly on drives to the basket. Kevin Garnett led all scorers
with 29 points.
Last week, Orlando Magic guard Steve Francis made the winning
tip-in with 2.7 seconds left after having a clear path to the
rebound.
"We have to figure out a way to be more mentally tough," Scott
said. "I told them after the Minnesota game, my biggest question
was their mental toughness.
"When things are going bad, you've got to kind of settle each
other down. Our attitude has been (we're) thinking about our
offense so much that we're losing understanding that defense is
going to win games."
Forward Rodney Rogers has been unimpressive as a scorer and
rebounder. Veteran George Lynch, who beat out Rogers for the
starting small forward spot, still seems to be finding his way
in the offense.
Backup center Chris Andersen has been a decent rebounder, but
he's shot 5-of-14 through four games. Rookie J.R. Smith, as
expected, is struggling as a defender, but he has been facing
veterans such as Sprewell and Bryant.
Even Davis, who is averaging a team-high 26.3 points per game,
has experienced problems. In the first half against the Lakers,
he didn't take a shot from the field and had one assist. He
scored a team-high 23 points, but he did not make his first
shot from the field until 7:08 remained in the third quarter,
when the Hornets trailed by 30.
"I wanted to get my teammates going early to open things for me,"
said Davis, who scored 15 points during the Hornets' 42-19
fourth-quarter run. "But I didn't do a good job of dictating
the flow of the game or pushing the tempo to force the issue."
Scott met with his players for nearly an hour before practice
Wednesday to go over mistakes and the things they did well in
the fourth quarter against the Lakers.
Now, it almost appears like they are in a must-win situation
Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks, who are winless after
their first four games under first-year coach Mike Woodson.
Scott said it's too early to panic, but he wants his players
to push harder.
"If this was our 20th or 30th game and we looked as bad as we
did (Tuesday), I would panic," Scott said. " But I'm a very
confident person, and I know what we do works. It's just a
matter of the guys giving it a chance on both ends and trusting
each other.
"We do it all at practice, but we don't transfer it to the games.
That's very frustrating from a coaches' standpoint, and it should
be from the players' standpoint. I try to break down everything
to show the guys where they should be, so it's not foreign to
them in the game. Our energy and effort has to be a constant."
There are 78 games remaining, but the losses are growing
increasingly frustrating for veteran shooting guard David
Wesley.
"We've got to get it done on the defensive end, because we're
not just going to outscore people," Wesley said. "We have the
personnel to get it done, and we showed that in the fourth
quarter against the Lakers. When you score 42 points in the
final quarter, you're not supposed to lose the game. But, when
you score 35 during the first half, it doesn't help."
. . . . . . .
John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com
or (504) 826-3405.
這篇寫的滿好的 有沒有人願意幫忙翻譯一下的 ^^?
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