<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> Stray thoughts on the eve of what could be an actual winning streak:</p> -- In case you're wondering whether running the offense through Emeka Okafor in the post really makes a difference, consider this: Okafor took a season-high 18 shots against the Clippers and the Bobcats generated 108 points. They had not scored more than 96 in the previous eight games.</p> Okafor is essential because just about the most important thing an NBA offense can do is force the opposing team to double the post. That skews the defense and always leaves someone open.</p> That means the next step in Okafor's development is teaching him to read a double-team and pass to the guy who would have an open shot. That sounds obvious, but it's not because NBA defenses rotate so smoothly.</p> Learning to find the open man out of a double-team is what made Patrick Ewing such a devastating scorer; you couldn't fully commit to doubling him because he was so good at finding the open shooter.</p> -- I haven't seen it yet, but I hear rookie Jared Dudley's video tour of Bobcats Arena for ESPN is a hoot. Dudley ad-libbed his way through most of it, and I'm not surprised how funny he was.</p> Dudley is one of the smarter Bobcats. Being smart doesn't automatically make you funny, but I've seldom met dumb people who were funny. Bobcats p.r. guy B.J. Evans did a smart thing, sending Dudley out to be the franchise's face for this assignment.</p> -- If coach Sam Vincent isn't going to use Walter Herrmann more, then maybe the smart thing would be seeing what he'd bring in trade.</p> I know Toronto expressed interest in him after last season, which is no surprise that Raptors player-personnel chief Brian Colangelo loves international players.</div></p> Source: Charlotte Observer</p>
