Day 1- Evening Session

Nice One Tommy

I am guessing Mike D goes with

Duhon
Gallo
Chandler
Harrington
lee

The rest is a TBD. You need Gallo outside plus we dont want him to get injured and it will keep other teams on their feet knowing he can drain the 3 from anywhere

Curry…? Same ol man. Dude is either always fat or injured. Reminds me of jerome James.

Great recap Tommy

Thanks

Chandler seems like a natural 3

Lee is Lee

Really disappointed to hear about Darko. I hope he focuses on D and blocking and let his offensive game come when its ready.

As far as the defense goes the Knicks have enough athletes to press and trap… And to pick up fullcourt… MD needs to extend his rotation to 10 or 11 and make sure every player is playing his hardest for the time he is out there… If every player gives their all, there is no reason for anyone to play 30mins a game… You’d be too tired anyway with the up and down pace of the game… He’s already playing a gimmick offense why not a gimmick defense as well…

Good to hear that Gallo is moving well… But this dude would be very helpful if he didnt just focus on Gallo the whole time… Would love to hear what every player is doing… Not, I didnt pay much attention to this guy or that guy… Anyway its only the 1st day but It seems like we arent off to a bad start at least… Just too bad Curry started off with the hammy issue… You know MD’s tolerance for him is extremely low, so any setback may mean he barely plays… We’ll be hearing the rhetoric from last year… “He is already behind and its hard to catch up”… Stuff like that… And that wont help his confidence at all…

I’m excited about this year! The team is young and hungry. I’m curious to see if Sun Yue sticks with the team…I think Darko will surprise….Rooster will be nasty… It’s a shame that Curry can’t catch a break though. Get well!

Who the hell doubted me when I said Gallo should play 2G, Its good to see that Mike D thinks like me its reassuring.

Another thing, if you think Eddy is a bum etc. think that but I’m SO tired of people talking shit its so annoying. Either hes gonna play and be good or not that’s it and if you think that hes gonna be crap this year fine but whats the point of constantly talking about it, you have said it time after time put it to rest now.

You gotta feel for the big man. I mean, he worked all summer to shed a couple dozen pounds, not to carry that weight quickly straight of the gate. It was a push and he almost made it. Cleatrly he’s not ready for a full day intense work out. Let’s hope he bounces back quick. We all know the importance of ridding that contract.
You gotta love Gallo’s intensity. The guy wants to be a Knick and wants to stay with the franchis and watch it grow. Let’s see if he can actually turn to be our next homegrown star, because it’s clear that DW wants to make Gallinari a brand name.
As for Will, let’s hope he continues to progress, because if he does, a Will-Gallo tandem with Harrington waiting along side can actually bring NY back to the “hey, we gotta pick it up ’cause we’re playing at MSG tonight, guys” map for the rest of the NBA.

Another great article in the New York Times today about Gallo…I know that it probably says the same types of things we already read 3-4 today . But, I can’t get enough of this stuff

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/sports/basketball/30knicks.html?ref=sports

I got to thinking the other night… What happens once the season ends and a great deal of your roster leaves and your main moves (James, Wade, Bosh, Amare) don’t work? You go to your second choices (by that we mean cheaper ones -we assume- in the likes of Joe Johnson and sorts). Then you got your third options (great vets in the likes of Ginobili, Allen and what not). After that process, you gotta hope all your players didn’t sign somewhere else (in the case our season actually goes better than everyone thinks).
What happens when all the moves, backup moves, and third string moves you had for the 2010 FA don’t work and on top of that you lose Nate, Lee, Robinson and Harrington? (I don’t mind losing Hughes, just don’t like his game).
I had “save for 2011″ in my head, but at the same time, if we have improvement this season, it’s to be expected that by 2010-11 we’ll be in the playoffs, and for that we need to make up for whatever players we lose in 2010 FA and aren’t successful in any onther plans DW had in mind.
What moves would you make when your roster is Douglas, Hill, Gallinari and Chandler? (trusting that both Curry and Jeffries will be gone)?
That’s why I got to thinking, it’s not as simple as just saying “hey, we can actually make a run at a couple of stars”, what happens to the rest? Let’s remember, no lottery….

This is Darko’s 4th team, he is not American, his demeanor is probably just the way it is because of that. I hear last year his best friend was Marc Gasol another foreigner, maybe he and Gallo become close. He just might not be a smiley guy, lets give him a chance

Actually I was commenting that yesterday. Eastern european guys are known for their cold-I don’t care demeanor. It doesn’t mean they’re actually like that. It’s just the face hu puts on.

http://www.nba.com/knicks/news/09trainingcamp_milicic.html

this can actually shed some light

Good stuff, Ive been hoping and pulling for this kid and I think this system will show why Joe Dumars picked him at #2. He is stronger thane when he was drafted, he has played in the league and is aware how to playin the league.

I was kind of hype at the Sun Yue pickup, just ebcause of his height for one and being another overseas players, hoping he can run in Mike’s system. Any word how he has looked during the early scrimmages

Its disappointing BUT im sure Eddie wants to be hurt…NOT. Hope he gets well quick and can be utilized in the system he can be a positive addition instead of just trade bait for his contract.

I wished he would have spent time with the one guy in Detroit and then with Tim Groves, guys rave about him. Get well Eddie soon so you dont fall out of the rotation

I would not stereotype Darko’s demeanor as a result of his eastern European roots. Maybe he had no friends and was not in a good system for him to progress at Det and Tenn. Let’s see if playing at the Garden stirs his passion or not. If he can’t turn it on at MSG when the Knix are rallying, his career will be over soon. If he can block 2 shots a game he will make a good situation for himself. The prob I see is the Knix big man coach, mousy Herb Williams, inspires nothing. Bring in Partrick and Oak, I say!

DTR

When I see Galinari and speculate on his potential I see Toni Kukoc with a better jumper. Which is good, but not great. We’ll see I certainly hope he surprises me and turns into a more fluid and athletic version of Nowitzki or a more consistent Turkoglu.

I really hope he doesn’t turn out to be injury prone either, he seems a little weak. Which is strange. He played with grown men internationally while going through puberty and then after 1 summer league game he couldn’t get to 100% for over a year? Probably more of an indictment of the softness of European players than anything else (the main reason why I wasn’t all gung ho behind getting Ricky Rubio either).

As for Darko, I find it interesting that he gets a pass for skipping out on interviews on media day and his first chance to endear himself to the fans by saying all the right things.

If this was Kwame Brown (another pick who never reached his potential or substantiated such a high slot in the draft) would the fans be as understanding and willing to “…give him a chance”.

I doubted it. I still doubt it. Until I see it I will continue to doubt it.

Trust me I would love to be wrong. At least he stands a better chance of not injuring his back guarding 2′s rather than 4′s. My concern isn’t whether he can play there in spot duty but whether he can occupy that position night in and night out.

There are a lot of talented 2′s in this league and it may be the most difficult position to guard (there are so many) and when he faces a defensive specialist at that position will he be able to get by them?

If he can develop a post up game that could be a good look in the half court, (not the way _’antoni likes to play unfortunately) especially if he is as skilled a passer as billed.

I really don’t think there is anyway Curry gets on the court and dominates again, not in this system and not with his lack of conditioning. I know this could be wrong but do you think Dolan could give him more money under the table to get him to decline that option, since it is obvious he has nothing to contribute going forward? I am sick of hearing about this guy, he is a bum and nothing more. If I were 7 feet and 300 pounds I would be the greatest center of all time because I love the game, unfortunately I wasn’t blessed with the mammoth size of one Eddy Curry. Time to get this guy out of town, by any means necessary!

No they wouldnt and nor would Hahn, who seems to not want to label Darko a bust when he clearly is… The question is how much can he help the team, all the other stuff matters little to me…

As a fan I could care less how he acts towards the media. The media shouldn’t be our consigliere, the game should. He can endear himself on the court.

Also. And Kwame is 27. Darko turned 24 over the summer and has had substantially less minutes in his career. A bit of a difference.

Haha maybe Stern will pay him off for us.

no way defensively Gallo can play the two guard.

offensively it really doesnt matter who is playing what spot.

repport on real GM that AL Jeff dropped over 30 lbs eating subway sandwiches. — And he doesnt have an endorsement deal.

He went from 290 and change to 260

Offer him a front office job. Or…. if he gets badly injured again, can we apply for insurance to cover the rest of his contract? Ironically, that is the circumstance where he is the most tradable.

Anyone read Seth’s day 2 morning session article, or hahn’s article today?

here’s an excerpt.

“We got to see plenty of conditioning stuff- full-court drills, running, and a circuit of weight work, but there was another task that had Mike D’Antoni most occupied. It’s a defensive drill: five offensive players stand around the perimeter, swinging the ball rapidly from man to man. Five players on defense must shift and communicate while reacting to the ball movement. Eventually, the offense starts cutting and and making craftier passes, and the D has to keep up. I think I mentioned this on the Twitter, but Mike D’Antoni got seriously animated about this one. It was hard to tell exactly what he said, but there were multiple occasions when he actually cut the drill short to direct traffic and chastise certain guys. It was intense, and it was defense.”

Really exciting stuff…

Just a suggestion for TKB… this is my go-to blog for anything Knicks. if something surfaces anywhere on the internet i can always rely on the news being relayed here shortly thereafter. I think that during this preseason, particularly training camp, any articles that get put up by anyone (hahn, seth, and whoever else) with specific info on our training camp should be posted here right away. I don’t wana have to go searching! HAHA

Over-all though the coverage here is great, obviously.

Yes, a bit. So let’s say the Knicks brought Kwame in 2 years ago and pulled the same thing, I still doubt there would be people saying “…give him a chance.”

Isn’t it sad that Kwame Brown has been good enough to get “substantially” more minutes (mpg) over his career than Darko Milicic?

“Really exciting stuff…” Yea _’antoni actually doing what he gets paid for, coaching basketball. The other team does get the ball sometimes, one might as well practice as such.

It’s exciting because he’s doing what all the hater’s say he refuses to do… I’m not excited that they are playing defense… I’m excited that everyone who uses (over-uses) the term _’antoni can now close their mouths.

Anyone who hates on a new coach after one full year with a shitty team (one of the most successful coaches over the last 5 years) is clearly just hating for the sake of hating.

And don’t say he isn’t successful just because he didn’t win rings, because there are plenty of great coaches and great teams who don’t win rings over the span of 5 years. Phil jackson must have been a terrible coach from 2002-2009.

LeBron must be a bust because he hasn’t won a ring….

My point is that, isn’t that would he should have been doing in the first place? As a new coach with a new team that doesn’t reflect what you would like to do offensively (he bastardized the 7SOL offense once he realized he didn’t have the weapons to run it effectively), wouldn’t the obvious “Plan B” be to instill a defensive philosophy in order to give your squad a chance every night?

I read many articles where it was mentioned how “smart” _’antoni is and how he would “adapt” to his personnel and that he was more than capable of coaching a “different style” that put his players in the best position to win. I never saw that at any point last year.

Say what you will about Pat Riley, but when he came to the Knicks he adapted to his team and went to war the best way he could after coming from a “Showtime” style of offense in LA and moving toward a grind it out hard-nosed defensive style here in NY.

He didn’t pay attention to defense and _’antoni admitted as much.

“I joked about it and that’s not the right message to send,” he said. “Some guys (players) thought we were going to out-score people . . . So our approach has to be different.”

“When you’re 28th (defensively), obviously you did something wrong,” D’Antoni said. “We re-assessed everything we did and, yeah, I think we can do a better job COACHING it and getting their mindset right. We can do better and we will do better.”
-via Hahn’s “Fix”

So it’s not hating for the sake of hating. The fact of the matter is every player can learn defense, regardless of their shortcomings offensively. If they’re not going to play defense they shouldn’t be on the floor. Offense comes and goes for stretches at a time during games a good team needs to be consistent defensively.

What I find interesting is even after making this “adjustment” philosophically he seems like he is only thinking of his starting lineup or the players he puts on the floor from an offensive perspective.

“Even before Eddy Curry’s injury knocked him out of practice on the first day, Mike D’Antoni seemed already committed to returning to the plan that had 6-9 David Lee playing the center position.”

Even if it puts the team at a disadvantage defensively “…D’Antoni seems to like this smaller group of five and made that point when he said, “We’re going to play our best five guys.”

This guy is uncannily stubborn.

The last 2 quotes come via Hahn’s “Fix” also.