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Acquiring Richardson -- and the $40 million he's owed over the next three years after this season -- was viewed as an unexpectedly bold move by Jordan, leading some to wonder if the deal was made in part because Richardson's game reminded Jordan of himself earlier in his career. "Can he be a Michael Jordan? We're not expecting him to be," Jordan said at the time. "Can he be a piece that helps us finish ball games a lot better? Can he give us a little more firepower on the offense end? Yes."

But Slaggert was even more impressed with how Richardson worked on improving his all-around game, despite usually being the best player on the floor."A lot of times after our practice, and we had some pretty grueling ones, he'd go over to Saginaw Valley State and shoot like 500 or so shots with his uncle," Slaggert said. "Jason has unbelievable talent. But he understood even back then, that he had to work on his game to become a really good player."

He has spent a considerable amount of time improving his perimeter shooting, which for a while was considered his greatest weakness. This season, he's shooting a career-best 42.2 percent from 3-point range."When you look at his development from when he came out of Michigan State, the one thing that everyone's surprised with, is his ability to hit 3s," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders. "That's probably the biggest change. I don't think anyone anticipated he would be that type of 3-point shooter."And that 3-point shooting, added to an already impressive offensive game, makes him a tough player to defend."Just watching him play, his demeanor, his athleticism, his ability ... he's one of the rare guys, he has the ability to get a shot off whenever he wants," Saunders said. "Whether it's a 3-point shot, whether he wants to get the ball going to the basket, whether he wants to post-up ... he can hurt you in a lot of ways."

Former Eastern Michigan standout Earl Boykins recently signed with the Bobcats. In four games, the 5-foot-5 Boykins is averaging 6.8 points off the bench while shooting 34.5 percent from the field. "Earl's still getting some rust off, but he's a push-it-up kind of guy," Bobcats coach Sam Vincent told the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer. "He creates tempo, but he can stretch a defense because he shoots it well from the outside."

Pistons#1 wrote:Cant wait to see 5'5 Boykins trying to guard Billups.

Always a treat. Hopefully he'll get some burn out there against Chauncey.

The Bobcats always get up for the Pistons. And you can bet they'll be fired up when the teams meet tonight. Charlotte has lost both meetings this season, most recently a 103-100 overtime game Jan. 12 in which the Bobcats were called for offensive goaltending in the final seconds.

Charlotte dressed only eight players that game because of injuries and could be shorthanded again with a depleted backcourt. The Bobcats have lost five straight and eight of 10.

"For us, it's always an energy game," Porter said. "They've changed because they've gone to a bigger lineup. Now they're putting Nazr (Mohammed) and (Emeka) Okafor in the starting lineup, and now (Gerald) Wallace at the four spot. You know, we have to do a good job on the boards. We've got to work those bigs. We can't let their wing guys, Wallace and obviously (Jason) Richardson, get off, and make sure we do a good job with those guys."

srt4b wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Didn't he drop 30 on us a few years back...............with Prince on him no less?

The skinny: Charlotte comes to town off a 14-point home loss to the reeling New Jersey Nets on Friday night with an 18-32 record