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Post by ironman95 on Sept 29, 2009 15:44:33 GMT -5
In Starting Blue: Gallinari, Duhon, Harrington, Chandler and Lee.(MB and AH). D'Antoni says he made a mistake last year not emphasizing defense(MB). "I must be in the wrong gym. This team is practicing defense"(AH). They just practiced drills no scrimmaging, which is supposed to happen tonight. Curry's calf was wrapped. He was doing OK against Darko, while huffing and puffing. If those 5 in blue are really the starting 5, who is the center? I hope not Lee, so that only leaves Gallinari, and I see him only as a situational center this year. In addition the coach says he wants the Knicks to be in the top half(at least 15th) in defense(MB). Also of note, is that Monta' Ellis is apparently as unhappy as Stephen Jackson. Now there's a team that needs Starbury to complete them. And still their most desireable player for the Knicks from my point of view is Azubuike.
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Post by kgooglog on Sept 30, 2009 7:23:49 GMT -5
Curry's calf was wrapped since he wanted to keep it fresh for his breakfast. On a more serious note, I am a bit wary of this line-up as well. Now that the Knicks actually have three centers on their contract, is Mike going to stick with Lee in the pivot?
I also see Gallo as a situational center, as you do. Even with a mass of Curry clogging up the paint, Gallo can still make his deft passes from outside the free throw line or simply get wide open looks for that sweetest shot.
I've heard that Harrington is in superb physical condition, which is yet more evidence that all players should always be in their last contractual year. In other words, do away with player option deals and the salary cap. That is the solution to the NBA fiscal woes.
We know that Curry cannot yet run at full strength with the team, but it would be nice to get Darko in the middle and not give him the Larry Brown Neglect at the start of camp...
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Post by daglazer on Sept 30, 2009 10:53:54 GMT -5
First, never put too much emphasis on a starting 5 in the first practice. Second, in this lineup, Lee is the Center. Al and Gallo are the forwards and Chandler pairs with Duhon in the backcourt. We have a lot of size on the perimeter.
My hunch is that Mike D wants to see Darko earn a spot and not just hand him one.
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Post by greatgates on Sept 30, 2009 16:08:08 GMT -5
First, never put too much emphasis on a starting 5 in the first practice. Second, in this lineup, Lee is the Center. Al and Gallo are the forwards and Chandler pairs with Duhon in the backcourt. We have a lot of size on the perimeter. My hunch is that Mike D wants to see Darko earn a spot and not just hand him one.Totally agree. Alot of teams start with returning players on the 1st team. They know the system and it makes newcomers "earn it" and eases some of the pressure on darko. BTW he really just got here and didn't get any pre camp work. Mike should see him before he promotes him. Darko article: www.nba.com/knicks/news/09trainingcamp_milicic.html [/color] |
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Post by ironman95 on Sept 30, 2009 19:17:16 GMT -5
Eddy has gone back to Manhattan to get blood drained from his plantaris muscle, which is a muscle that sits behind the achilles and supposedly does not have any function, like the appendix. Recently however there was a report that the appendix does have some function. I am not counting on Eddy Curry ever being ready again. As for Darko, D'Antoni says he will play. Eddy will be out at least 3-5 days, and he can ill afford any missed workouts. While the key to the season may be Gallinari, I think success will ultimately depend on Darko. He's big, he's thin, he can run the floor, he has never been in a run and gun offense before, has always been forced to play with his back to the basket, so I am hoping that the system fits him and he fits the system. Only if Darko lives up to just some of his potential will the Knicks break 40 wins this season. Reports are also that Nate and Douglas make a good tandem. Hill is hitting jumpers but will need a LOT of work, even though he says he is in better shape now than summer league. I think Hill will be collecting splinters for awhile on the bench. He's gotta get by Harrington, Lee, Gallinari, Darko, Curry and maybe even Jeffries. I don't see him taking time from Lee or Gallinari, and from Harrington it will be tough, so only if Curry continues unavailable and Darko proves to be not as good as we hope, will Hill see daylight.
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Post by dk7th on Sept 30, 2009 20:06:28 GMT -5
Eddy has gone back to Manhattan to get blood drained from his plantaris muscle, which is a muscle that sits behind the achilles and supposedly does not have any function, like the appendix. Recently however there was a report that the appendix does have some function. I am not counting on Eddy Curry ever being ready again. As for Darko, D'Antoni says he will play. Eddy will be out at least 3-5 days, and he can ill afford any missed workouts. While the key to the season may be Gallinari, I think success will ultimately depend on Darko. He's big, he's thin, he can run the floor, he has never been in a run and gun offense before, has always been forced to play with his back to the basket, so I am hoping that the system fits him and he fits the system. Only if Darko lives up to just some of his potential will the Knicks break 40 wins this season. Reports are also that Nate and Douglas make a good tandem. Hill is hitting jumpers but will need a LOT of work, even though he says he is in better shape now than summer league. I think Hill will be collecting splinters for awhile on the bench. He's gotta get by Harrington, Lee, Gallinari, Darko, Curry and maybe even Jeffries. I don't see him taking time from Lee or Gallinari, and from Harrington it will be tough, so only if Curry continues unavailable and Darko proves to be not as good as we hope, will Hill see daylight. curry still needs to lose 25-30 pounds. that trainer-- the one who flim-flammed this summer when he said people who think he can be below 310 pounds are insane-- is himself completely and utterly full of shyte. "epic fail" with this dude as the kids say. curry is still at around 28% body fat judging from photos posted on one of the threads on realgm. translation: he's still 25-30 pounds away from the bare minimum for nba players. what a joke. the silver lining is now d'antoni will HAVE to start the 7'2" milicic. starters: milicic, gallinari, and lee up front with chandler and duhon in the backcourt. bench: douglas for duhon, hughes/robinson for chandler-- depending on the quality of the opponent's sg (better sg's require hughes as a defender)-- harrington for lee or gallinari. trapping and pressing: use hill or jeffries with the second unit as a trapping and pressing unit at the end of quarters to exhaust the opponent. this pressing and trapping strategy-- something i have been adamantly advocating for two years now-- is already being tried with douglas and robinson in scrimmage. in addition to douglas and robinson i'd select hughes, harrington, and either jeffires or hill to suffocate the opponent after made baskets at the end of quarters. this means a ten man rotation and i say do it. d'antoni needs to use the depth he has in just this fashion. |
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Post by ironman95 on Sept 30, 2009 23:11:28 GMT -5
I'm a personal trainer, DK, so I know what bull$hit smells like. They probably said that because they could see that they couldn't get Curry to work hard(Smart) enough to get more done. It's not like he's got a lot of muscle or thick legs, so 285 would have been a more desireable if less realistic goal. Less realistic only in the belief that Eddy just isn't and cannot be all that motivated. I worked on the Tarheel Football team 2 weekends ago, and some were highly motivated to do their 10 minutes worth of yoga and stretching, but others just layed there like lumps, especially the defensive linemen. I expected the offensive linemen to do that, but not the defensive linemen. It must be the same with Eddy. I don't know the trainers, but I know Ocean City, NJ very well and there is no real good gym there. There was a Gold's gym in Somers Point, and another decent gym in Northfield, but not much except the community center in Ocean City. When training someone like Eddy, the first step is education, then next is teaching execution in a smart way. That means teaching how to do every movement absolutely in the correct manner so that you are training "SMART" not HARD. It is necessary to do certain exercises early in the sequence and others late, and others in combination. I doubt these expensive trainers emphasized all that, or even did all that. All the people I train are very strong, without gaining any significant weight, and without bulging muscles. For instance, I can max out the Universal Tricep Pushdown @ 190lbs, with correct form, which means from horizontal on down the legs, not how you see most idiots starting at the top using their shoulders and then momentum,even though I only weigh 160lbs. I do not have huge arms, just super definition and strength. I can Leg Press 1000lbs, even with my skinny legs, highly developed but not especially big legs, and with a repaired achilles. That is what Eddy should have been doing and be able to do, but I doubt he can outlift me, except maybe bench press. As for the other Knicks, I like Darko, Lee, Gallinari, Chandler and Duhon as my starters, but I have a quesy feeling in my stomach that somehow Harrington will be in the starting lineup. I think a 10 man rotation is the way to go, problem is there are 5 guards and 5 forwards on the most likely list, and it should be 4 guards and 6 big men. Moving Chandler back and forth between SG and SF might solve that problem, but I still see problems getting Nate, Hughes and Douglas enough minutes for them to consistently play well and find rhythm.
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Post by greatgates on Oct 1, 2009 9:11:38 GMT -5
Harrington will start. He can actually score.
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Post by kgooglog on Oct 1, 2009 9:13:15 GMT -5
Only Eddy Curry would have a vestigal organ that 60% of the human species don't have. I read Berman's article today at my local coffee shop, and I have to admit that Eddy really outdid himself this time.
Maybe draining his premordial whale flipper may actually help him get bought out by Donnie Walsh. Just when I was ready to remove my photo of Ed driving through the lane, meaning the McDonald's lane, he misses his second preseason workout in two seasons.
Iron. I share that same queasy feeling you have about Al Harrington being in the starting line-up this year, at least for the first 10 games until Mike D'Antoni gets ordered by Donnie to play a pivot that is over 6'9 inches tall. To think that I read today that Jared Jeffries may also be in the rotation, is sickening to me.
The Knicks have to get rid of these useless players, and if we talk about "zero sum" guys, let's look at Curry and Jeffries.
Eddy is too uninspired to ever follow the training that you advocate, Iron. I think it is time NY cuts its losses with Curry. Buy him out of his deal. Who cares how much it costs Dolan. It will allow NY substantially more cap-space for next season and if Jimmy bought Marbury out for $19,000,000 in his last year of his contract, think about the anguish Curry will cause the Knicks and their fans for this year as well as next year. $23,000,000 for a plantar flipper injury. Unfreakinbelievable.
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Post by ironman95 on Oct 1, 2009 12:53:22 GMT -5
GG, Nate can actually score also, as you say about Harrington, that doesn't make him a starter. The object is to score MORE than the opponents. Harrington and Nate, with their lack of defense make that objective more difficult to attain. Harrington starting means Lee, Gallinari or Darko doesn't start. Which one do you pick not to start and why? Do you really want to go with Lee as center again? I don't. Harrington and Nate(paired with Douglas) may make a formidable microwave type of bench, if used correctly, against the opponents bench. That is what I want to see.
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Post by greatgates on Oct 1, 2009 13:05:40 GMT -5
GG, Nate can actually score also, as you say about Harrington, that doesn't make him a starter. The object is to score MORE than the opponents. Harrington and Nate, with their lack of defense make that objective more difficult to attain. Harrington starting means Lee, Gallinari or Darko doesn't start. Which one do you pick not to start and why? Do you really want to go with Lee as center again? I don't. Harrington and Nate(paired with Douglas) may make a formidable microwave type of bench, if used correctly, against the opponents bench. That is what I want to see. To score MORE than your opponents you have to actually make some baskets. Harrington can actually create his own shot. If it turns out one of those others can do that THEN maybe you can sit Al. It really doesn't matter as there are planty of minutes for DLee, Al, Gallo, and Darko. |
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Post by ironman95 on Oct 1, 2009 13:12:21 GMT -5
In addition, I don't see Harrington on the Knicks next year, so I'd rather give minutes the guys who might or probably will be here next year. Darko and Lee might be here, and Gallinari will be here along with Chandler and Hill. Do you think Lebron wants to see Harrington have a good year, or Gallinari and Hill. The answer is obvious. The Knicks need to win with the players who are going to still be here in 2010, in order to attract that major free agent. No one will want to come to a team where the major cogs in an offense are most likely not coming back. Major free agents want to see some defense that will back them up, like a presence in the middle. That is why I am hoping Darko succeeds. A shot-blocker in the middle takes a lot of pressure off of perimeter defenders and allows them to guard their man closer, knowing that big man in the middle has their back, and others on the team know how to provide help defense. Harrington and Nate are worse than Lee at help defense. In addition Harrington in the lineup most likely means that Darko is not. That might improve the offense, but the defense will suffer greatly with that change. My criticism of Harrington's game is the same as always on offense. He doesn't get to the foul line enough. Translation: he'd rather hang around outside and hope for an open shot, or force one up, than work his way underneath. That is obvious if you really watch the games. At least Nate attempts to drive inside and gets to the foul line, despite his size. Darko(or Curry, or even Hill later) has to be in the starting lineup or the Knicks are doomed. The defense will just plain suck with Harrington, Lee and Gallinari defending the front. The offense will suck if Lee or Gallinari are not in the starting lineup. Pick your poison. Harrington has to come off the bench. Nothing wrong with that. Establish a defensive presence early in the game, then make the offensive adjustments later as necessary to WIN the game.
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Post by irish2u2 on Oct 1, 2009 18:16:38 GMT -5
Some observations....
Eddy Curry could have gone below 300lbs. Easily. All he had to do was work at it and this always the crux of the problem with Eddy. He is better at making excuses than solving the problem. As a fan I'm happy he lost 40lbs but he still has 25lbs or so to go in my book. I am SO not shocked he will miss the two a day workouts. Berman had a funny throw away line in his column today that the rumors were unfounded that Eddy was trying to legally change his name to Jerome James. ; )
IMHO there is a place for Al Harrington beyond this year. He can play either forward spot and he does enough good things on both sides of the court to have a lot of value. The questions are would he be willing to come off the bench, which I believe is where he would prosper the best, and would he take less money from the Knicks to stay with the Knicks. Certainly that last question is also one that David Lee will face but I think the answer in both cases is "yes". Harrington won't get much past a MLE offer, if that, and Lee isn't going to get 10 mil a year. I think we can keep both especially if we can trade Curry and Jefferies. Do we want to keep Harrington? I don't care who we get in the off season. Harrington is a guy who gets points in bunches and he can do it inside or outside. He can play with LeBron or behind LeBron. I think one of the keys to the Knicks is the fact they do have some frontcourt players who can play multiple positions. Lee can certainly play the two power positions and Harrington conceivably could play all 3 frontcourt positions as could Gallinari. Hill is like Lee. We can mix and match to our heart's content and by adding LeBron James (hopefully) we add the one guy in the league I feel could play all the positions on the court and play them at superstar level.
I still think Darko will experience a Phoenix-like rebirth of his career in NY. Everything seems to be aligning perfectly for him. We play a style that favors his game and we certainly have PT available to the right player. Darko has grown and matured to the point where issues from the past don't matter as much to him now. Say what you want about the NY Press (and most of it is accurate ; ) but Darko isn't viewed as a "Savior" here and no city loves rags to riches like the Big Apple. No fanbase appreciates the little things a basketball player does like Knicks fans either and they will appreciate Darko's game.
Right now my ideal starting lineup is easy. Darko at center, Lee at PF, Gallo at SF, Chandler at SG and Duhon at PG. The first 2 guys off the bench are Harrington and Nate. Coaching isn't that hard. ; )
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