Morrison's Shooting Goes Ice Cold

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There's an axiom in the NBA that there's no sense fouling a bad shooter because you're just giving him points he won't take for himself.

So perhaps it's no coincidence Charlotte Bobcats rookie Adam Morrison took no free throws in his past two games.

In losses to Seattle and Denver, Morrison shot 4-of-20 from the field. He didn't take a free throw in those two games, after earning 11 trips to the foul line Wednesday in an overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.

For the season, Morrison is shooting 32 percent from the field, after being a 50 percent shooter at Gonzaga. Defenders might be longer and quicker in the NBA, but Morrison says that's no excuse.

He's simply missing shots he's made for years.

"No," he said Sunday (1-of-8 vs. the Nuggets), when asked if defenses were shutting him down. "I just can't get a shot to fall."

He's missed numerous open looks, and he admits this has dented his confidence. In college, he was the franchise, empowered to shoot whenever he wanted. Here, he's a reserve shooting guard and agrees with coach Bernie Bickerstaff that he hasn't earned a starting spot.

Being the No. 3 pick in June doesn't count for much when you're on a four-game, 10-of-43 slump.

"It's tough coming in a little bit cold," Morrison said of playing as a reserve, "but that's my role. My teammates are doing a great job of getting me good shots. The coaches are, too.

"In college, I could put up shots whenever I wanted. But here, they're wide-open shots, too. I'll get through it. I've worked through things before, and I'll persevere."

NBA defenders are savvy enough not to foul players who miss on their own, and Morrison doesn't force contact much these days. He shot off the dribble more at Gonzaga, with an assortment of pull-ups and runners. Here, he's been more of a spot-up shooter.

The coaches haven't lost confidence. Bickerstaff encouraged Morrison to shoot more, not less, particularly after he passed up what might have been a game-winning shot in Boston.

"I said, `Just let it fly. You've done it all your life, so you know you can,' " Bickerstaff said of a recent discussion with Morrison. "It doesn't stand a chance of going in if you don't shoot it."</div>

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