Post by dk7th on Oct 6, 2009 12:59:05 GMT -5
i know it's only a preseason game but...
wilson chandler looks like a different player out there. physically more mature, relaxed, confident. the form on his jumpshot looks better and he does not seem to be rushing his shot. he looks comfortable on the wing which is great because that will give gallinari an opportunity to play the small forward. chandler looks to have a higher ceiling than what i thought from last year. i would not trade him as part of either a curry or jeffries deal.
gallinari is definitely going to be a terrific playmaker. i think he's capable of 14 points and 6 or 7 assists. i thought there were two plays that demonstrate his value: the first was a beautiful bounce pass from the baseline on a drive to a cutting david lee and the other was a pass to the right wing from the lane in traffic and off balance. a third play was a simple pick and roll with lee where he thread the needle just perfectly with timing and touch and right in lee's rhythm. but what won't show up in the box score is his ability to keep the offense flowing and in a good rhythm, and his ability to stretch defenses where the opponent will have to send a bigger player out of the lane to guard him-- creating slashing and cutting opportunities for harrington, robinson, and chandler.
this leads to a crucial question: can these three players learn to pass to an open man once defenses converge? if they can then the knicks will be very hard to stop because they will have something other than the duhon/lee pick and roll to work with.
i appreciate the effort that harrington is trying to make to justify his future with the knicks, but i do not think he is suited to the role of leader. he would do so much better to simply focus on setting a good example defensively, improving his shot selection, and making good passes instead of holding on to the ball. that would be actions speaking louder than words. he still looked a bit trigger happy but luckily his shot was falling on sunday. what happens when he has a real defender in his face? i also noticed that gallinari did not look very appreciatively when harrington was "mentoring" him. there could be potential conflict between those two.
i did not like milicic's body language but hopefully that is just a manifestation of nerves-- but he did not look good out there except for one block i saw. jordan hill didn't look good out there nor did larry hughes.
i really like toney douglas-- he brings a defensive intensity and good energy with him, and the fact that he wants to defend is a sign of leadership-- and leadership is something the knicks need real bad. so far as his offense i think he will perform better once he shakes off the nerves and sees the floor better.
if hughes doesn't get it together he may end up deeper on the bench behind robinson.
i am still hoping for a rotation of lee, gallinari, milicic, duhon, chandler with douglas, robinson/(hughes), harrington. i'll be shocked if jeffries earns a spot, or hill.
does anyone else have some impressions to share?
wilson chandler looks like a different player out there. physically more mature, relaxed, confident. the form on his jumpshot looks better and he does not seem to be rushing his shot. he looks comfortable on the wing which is great because that will give gallinari an opportunity to play the small forward. chandler looks to have a higher ceiling than what i thought from last year. i would not trade him as part of either a curry or jeffries deal.
gallinari is definitely going to be a terrific playmaker. i think he's capable of 14 points and 6 or 7 assists. i thought there were two plays that demonstrate his value: the first was a beautiful bounce pass from the baseline on a drive to a cutting david lee and the other was a pass to the right wing from the lane in traffic and off balance. a third play was a simple pick and roll with lee where he thread the needle just perfectly with timing and touch and right in lee's rhythm. but what won't show up in the box score is his ability to keep the offense flowing and in a good rhythm, and his ability to stretch defenses where the opponent will have to send a bigger player out of the lane to guard him-- creating slashing and cutting opportunities for harrington, robinson, and chandler.
this leads to a crucial question: can these three players learn to pass to an open man once defenses converge? if they can then the knicks will be very hard to stop because they will have something other than the duhon/lee pick and roll to work with.
i appreciate the effort that harrington is trying to make to justify his future with the knicks, but i do not think he is suited to the role of leader. he would do so much better to simply focus on setting a good example defensively, improving his shot selection, and making good passes instead of holding on to the ball. that would be actions speaking louder than words. he still looked a bit trigger happy but luckily his shot was falling on sunday. what happens when he has a real defender in his face? i also noticed that gallinari did not look very appreciatively when harrington was "mentoring" him. there could be potential conflict between those two.
i did not like milicic's body language but hopefully that is just a manifestation of nerves-- but he did not look good out there except for one block i saw. jordan hill didn't look good out there nor did larry hughes.
i really like toney douglas-- he brings a defensive intensity and good energy with him, and the fact that he wants to defend is a sign of leadership-- and leadership is something the knicks need real bad. so far as his offense i think he will perform better once he shakes off the nerves and sees the floor better.
if hughes doesn't get it together he may end up deeper on the bench behind robinson.
i am still hoping for a rotation of lee, gallinari, milicic, duhon, chandler with douglas, robinson/(hughes), harrington. i'll be shocked if jeffries earns a spot, or hill.
does anyone else have some impressions to share?
