Around The Rim

There are two reasons Bucks guard Ray Allen secured the final spot on the Olympic team over young stars such as Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Allen Iverson. The first is that USA Basketball puts special emphasis on pure shooters, since Olympic competition allows zone defenses. The second, according to committee sources, is that experience in international basketball was given heavy consideration....

The Timberwolves had won 10 of 11 through Monday, and it's no coincidence that shooting guard Malik Sealy had hit for double figures in all 10 of those wins. Since coach Flip Saunders inserted Sealy into the starting lineup in place of Anthony Peeler, Sealy was shooting close to 59% from the floor, making teams pay for doubling Kevin Garnett. The downside of the move: Peeler's shooting woes have deepened in his new role off the bench....

Sacramento newcomer Nick Anderson thinks he finally has a handle on his own shooting difficulties. "In Orlando any shot I got was [after a pass had been] kicked back out from the post or swung to me from the perimeter," says Anderson. "In both cases I'd be set long before I shot the ball. But in this offense we shoot so much on the fly, I'm just now adjusting to it." Two days after making those comments, Anderson, who made 45.4% of his shots in 10 seasons with the Magic but was hitting only 36.4% with the Kings, nailed 4 of 4 from three-point range en route to a season-high 25-point performance in a 116-113 victory over Indiana.