There's a lot more to taking and making big shots in big games than simple, in-the-moment desire. But it starts there and Kings assistant coach Terry Porter doesn't know yet if Peja Stojakovic has it.

"I haven't been around him enough to know if he has the mindset," Porter said. "All I know is he doesn't dislike being in that situation."

Which is kind of like saying your old Uncle Fester doesn't dislike going to the store wearing pants. It leaves open the possibility of the preferred circumstance without exactly guaranteeing it.

	Peja Stojakovic, right, is remembered most for his miss against L.A. last year.

If nothing else, Porter's presence on the Kings' staff as an assistant coach is the latest provision to help Peja realize whatever potential he has as a go-to guy. Stojakovic's arrival in '98, two years after being drafted, dovetailed with the hiring of Rick Adelman, who coached both Porter and the late Drazen Petrovic, the first Yugoslav of any NBA repute and an equally talented dead-eye shooter.

Vlade Divac, a fellow Serb, first saw Peja on a Yugoslavian under-16 team and his locker is to the right of Peja's. To the left is where Lawrence Funderburke, who played with Peja on Greece's PAOK team, stows his gear.

"I can't say there was a grand vision," says Kings general manager Geoff Petrie, "but it's obviously helped."

Porter, though, may be the most vital addition now that Stojakovic has acclimated himself to the NBA to the tune of two All-Star selections and two 3-point shooting titles. The sets the Kings run for Peja are the same ones Adelman ran in Portland for Porter, who is revered within the league as one of its greatest unsung clutch shooters. Porter's job is to help Stojakovic utilize screens and shape his cuts so that no matter who is guarding him or how dedicated the opposition is to shutting him down, he can always get his shot off.

"It's learning how to set up his man better and creating more space," Porter said.

The old saw is that a defense, or defender, can't take every option away. If a scorer is crowded, he has to be comfortable reverse-pivoting and taking his man off the dribble. Or be able to back him down and attack with a post move. Or be strong enough on his jab step to back up the defender or draw a foul. If a scorer is shepherded to his weak side, he has to develop a confident move and shot in that direction -- in essence, minimizing the weakness. Or be clever enough to start that way and come back to his strong side. If he's being double-teamed or jumped on screens, he and his teammates have to recognize it early and counter with a dive to the basket or a fade off the pick.

Now, to be a trusted go-to guy down by one with four seconds left, he has to have all that and recognize in a blink what will work best.

	Peja Stojakovic Small Forward Sacramento Kings Profile
	2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 64 19.3 5.7 2.0 .481 .870

Based on results so far, the best option an opponent may have is to leave Stojakovic wide open. In his first game with PAOK, he airballed a potential game-winner with nobody on him, in much the same way he missed everything with a 3-pointer in Game 7 in last year's Western Conference finals against the Lakers.

Porter didn't see the miss against the Lakers. He had just finished what would prove to be his last season as a player, getting bounced along with the rest of the Spurs a few weeks earlier by those same Lakers.

"I was probably still moping," Porter said. "All I know is he missed a shot from the corner and that he usually makes that shot. I'm sure he doesn't think one shot is going to make or break his career."

Stojakovic doesn't think that, but he wondered if everybody else did.

"I've heard so many questions about that last shot," Stojakovic says. "I felt bad because I let my teammates down. But I always turn around and think, 'Tomorrow is going to be another day.' If I'm in that situation again with that shot, I'm going to take it. I hope to be in that situation again."

If the pattern of his career is any indication, Stojakovic has a knack for overcoming duress, given a little time. After his family had to flee its home in Pozega, Croatia, because of Yugoslavia's civil strife, it took him two years with Belgrad's Red Star to blossom into a player PAOK lured away. Then he had to train in obscurity for two years before Greek officials issued him a work permit. Then he was drafted by the Kings in '96 with the 14th pick and, thanks to contractual problems and a broken leg, had to wait two years to make his debut. Two years later, he was a first-time All-Star.

But perhaps the best indication that he's adept at do-overs came at this year's All-Star 3-point shooting contest. Stojakovic and the Grizzlies' Wesley Person went to an overtime round to decide the winner. Peja went first, but 24 seconds into the one-minute round, the horn sounded. The P.A. announcer encouraged him to keep shooting, which he did, but his concentration clearly was broken and he finished with 13. Officials decided to let Person shoot and then have Peja go again. Peja did and this time nailed 22 to Person's 16.

The best performance Stojakovic has had in a 3-point shooting contest. Ever.

But there's only place to gain universal recognition as a deadly shooter, and it isn't All-Star weekend.

"The playoffs, more than anything, is what your reputation is based on," Porter says. "Like it or not."

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com. Also, send a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.