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For the first time this season, three really was the charm for the Charlotte Bobcats.
Previous to Friday, the last thing you wanted the Bobcats doing was taking 3-pointers. They were 18percent on 3s. Then they get back Raja Bell and Flip Murray and it's funny how everything changed during a 103-83 thumping of the Atlanta Hawks.
Bell and Murray combined to go 8-of-11 from behind the arc and that boosted the Bobcats to 11-of-18.
Making all those 3s also opened driving lanes and lob passes. Even new center Tyson Chandler (10 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks), who said he felt like a "rookie" offensively here, made all five shots.
"We looked bad," Bell (24 points) said of his team's previous offensive struggles. "I'm not defending the way we looked, but there was a reason: We hadn't logged any minutes together."
Bell's point: Because of various intervening injuries Chandler, Boris Diaw, Bell and Murray had never all played together before Friday. The rust showed to the extent of 36percent shooting and an 80-point average during four games.
So if the Bobcats (3-2) keep defending and rebounding as they have and use Friday as a template offensively, maybe they're on to something.
"The defense has always been amazing. This time guys were making shots," said forward Gerald Wallace (11 points and 18 rebounds). "When (Bell) has got it going (from 3-point range) the defense sticks to him. That allows everyone else to get it going."
Actually, everyone except Wallace, who continued a shooting slump. He was 3-of-14, dropping his shooting percentage for the season to 31percent.
Best way to atone for that: Keep rebounding. He's averaging 14.8 boards per game, as the Bobcats outrebounded the Hawks 56-35.
"My confidence is down on my shot," Wallace said. "I told (teammates), 'You make the shot and I'll worry about the rebounds.' Just limit (the opponent) to one shot."
"You make the shot" is an easy order to fill for Murray (15 points). He's plugging into his seventh NBA franchise and is comfortable with what he is and isn't.
"He can score," coach Larry Brown concluded. "He's old-school, he plays at a good pace and he gets the ball where he wants. This (signing) was good for us."
