01-06-2008, 04:35 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 5,459
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JSOnline: Bell Expects to Heat up
Quote:
Bell shot 43.7% from the field last season and a respectable 35.2% from three-point range (127 of 361). But the former Michigan State star hasn't been the same player since a well-publicized contract dispute with team management, which eventually signed him to a five-year, $18 million contract, matching an offer sheet from the Miami Heat.
This season Bell is shooting 27.3% from the field (45 of 165) and just 21.7% (15 of 69) from three-point range. After he put up an airball on a three-point attempt in the second quarter on Friday, the boos echoed in the Bradley Center, and Bell certainly heard them.
"There's a lot of pressure when you play at home," Bell said. "You go out and you miss your first two shots, and you already haven't been shooting the ball well, and the crowd starts to get on you a little bit.
"You've got people yelling out my shooting percentages, and people telling me to give it up. It's tough. Mentally, I'm having a hard time getting through it right now. We've got two games on the road, and hopefully I can rekindle what I had in Miami."
Bell was 5 for 9 and scored 12 points in the Bucks' 103-98 victory over the Heat on Wednesday night.
The Bucks held a 35-minute practice and worked on some offensive sets before leaving for Charlotte, where they will face the Bobcats tonight. They move on to Philadelphia to play the 76ers on Tuesday before returning home to meet the Heat on Wednesday.
"With all the stuff that happened this summer, I've tried to put it behind me," Bell said. "But there's a lot of people out there that haven't put it behind them.
"You want to try to make that first shot. After you miss that first one, then you miss that second one, then you start aiming. You start thinking about every shot you take and everything you do.
"I'm trying to give it my all. When I come out here in practice, I shoot the ball well. I don't think it's mechanics. It's all mental. It's something I have to get over. Maybe I have to have a couple good games on the road, get some shots to fall and get more confidence.
"Hopefully I'll start making some shots and everybody can lay off me a little bit."
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http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=704015
Sigh.
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JSOnline: Bell Expects to Heat up
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