Mozgov vs. Team USA Highlights

here are mozgovs highlights vs the USA- i included lots of stuff, including the huge block on rose of course.

i think he played real good as he showed that he can compete with the nba players- despite the fact that he was being guarded by durant at the end of the game- he did most of the damage in the first half vs odom love and chandler. anyone who saw the game can tell that it was clear that when mozgov was on the court the russia was playing a lot better keeping the score close- but when he got into foul trouble- they were in the process of gettin blown out!!

***** ive also included a play where it was the first time ive seen a referee immediately admit and apologize for a wrong call he just made!! *****

mozgovs russia is playing argentina today for ranking clarifications and then its time for him to head to new york and put on a knick jersey!!

I thought it was impressive that he was so willing to guard Durant. Durant got around him a couple times, but I thought he made a pretty good effort. It was also nice seeing that attitude. He has that same attitude as Gallo, where he wants to compete against the best. Obviously he had trouble keeping up with Durant, but the fact that his team was willing to put him on the best player on the court is pretty telling. He outplayed Odom and Chandler offensively, and did a good job when he was asked to guard the opposing C. That block on Rose was so NASTY! Knicks fans are going to LOVE him if he does that in the regular season. No easy layups with the giant Russian guarding the paint!

The block on Rose was nassssty. What a terrible call. I’m just glad he made it through a game against above-average NBA talent without getting Weis’d.

Mozgov was beasting against the NBA’s best! Oh, and God bless thoses cheerleaders

Word up about those cheerleaders….

Ok… screw Argentina… let’s wrap him up, put him in a box, add some bubble wrap and overnight him to NYC. I don’t want to get him hurt over a “ranking” game, and the rest of the boys are already working out. Getting amped up…

The full split was most impressive.

Dude, Durant crossed him like a shoelace to start the second half.

But yeah, he showed he wasn’t afraid.

YOO!!!!!! This man in the middle will be a beast.. can wait to see him play with our team…. D’antoni should play this guy 15-25 min at night…Leave Amare at PF all time….spare gallo with randolph,, and have turiaf and Mosgov man the middle…

The second half was tough for him. You could tell that Coach K screamed at the team to rotate and make sure Moz was covered out of the pick and roll, and he got much less productive as a result. That said, in the NBA, if you do that, you’ll be leaving Amare open down low or Gallo in the corner.

He needs to work on a few fundamentals — finishing with his left, not falling backwards on free throws, and not bringing the ball down low for a power dribble on an offensive board — but that, along with a jumpshot, is stuff that can be taught.

Im fully convinced that this guy is just about ready to contribute he will def be a major factor in our success witht his new team we have =)

Lol yeah I know but it was Durant. A 7-1 C shouldn’t be able to guard him.

True, that was cruel and unusual punishment. I remember as he got iso’d on Durant, thinking “let him have the jumper”, but Moz challenged him and got burnt. I do give him some credit for trying, I guess.

Here’s what impressed me…

1) His agility
For a 7’1 guy, dude can move and is very active.

2) His toughness
Reiterating what Dylan said, he plays with some fire and isn’t afraid of contact at all. Once this guy actually bulks up, watch out.

Overall, whether or not he wins the starting spot he looks like another bright spot on the roster right up there with Randolph. Hopefully we keep him around long enough to watch him develop.

He surely had an impressive showing in FIBA. It’s important to remember however that Hamed Haddadi averaged 20 pts a game over the tournament, so don’t take everything at face value there. I will say that Mozgov surely made Team Russia better when he was on the floor, and Russia had no business being as good as it was this year so he has that over Haddadi.

I think this guy can contribute IF given an opportunity, and I really hope that Dantoni does give him the opportunity he deserves. That being said, foul trouble will certainly be an issue for him as he adjusts to the NBA so I wouldn’t expect more than 10-15 minutes if he’s given minutes at all. Also, his rebounding drive is weak and he really needs to improve on that. He has a great motor and really quite incredible athleticism and speed for his size, and does very well off the pick and roll so who knows. He might fit in really well with the Knicks.

I am glad so many people join me in the Russian bandwagon. What you stated I have been saying for a while. Turiaf and this kid should split the five and the best benefit is to have Amare at the four.

Now is up the fraud of a coach we have to put him in the line up either of the bench or starting.

well he did block one of his 3pointers at the end of the 1st quarter as u can see in the vid— but comeon durant pretty much faster than anybody his size- nba and international players

gettin 3 fouls in the first 5 minutes is not fould trouble when he will be playing maximum 15 minutes!

The thing i liked most about Mosgov is that he was good at the skills that you cant really teach… He was very active without the ball, he was aggressive with his finishes by going up for power layups and dunks… he is not afraid of contact.. And unlike eddy curry and david lee in the past few years Mosgov really makes an effort to block or atleast alter shots something the knicks have lacked for too long.. at 24 you would hope that his back to the basket game was alittle more polished but thats something that can be worked on… he is effective when he catches it on the pick and roll and is able to finish in traffic.. I dont want expectations to be too high for the kid.. I’ll be happy with like 18 minutes a game.. 6 or 7 points, 4 or 5 rebounds and a few altered shots a game

Like Eddie Curry?

Derrick Rose POSTERIZED
by your newest Knick
MOZZZZGOVVVV!!!!!

oh baby we havnt had a defense in years and years

TURIAF
AMARE
RANDOLPH
MOZGOV

SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT

THE SWAT TEAM

I like the combination of Turiaf and Mozgov in the middle. That’s 12 fouls to give. Make the paint a painful place to visit.
I expect Amare to get his 32-35 minutes and Gallo about the same. Thats 26-32 for Randoloph if he rotates between the 3 & 4. I could see all three on the court if Gallo slides to 2 on occasion. That would be a tall lineup.
So Bill Walker found few minutes in Boston (a good team) and a lot of minutes in NY (a bad team). If there are few minutes for bill Walker this year, does that make us a good team?

What I like the most from his game is how soft his hands are. He was getting bullets for passes and didn’t fumble one.

lol, I guess that’s true.

Don’t forget his soft hands.

Good motor, a little too anxious on defense, needs to keep the ball up high after rebound or on his catches in the paint and his footwork is pretty bad. He’s going to be a fouling machine in the NBA initially.

Bad hands for rebounding, good hands on offense. Weird.

He’s a little bit of a project, I sincerely hope the “coach” gives him some time, but I really doubt it. 1st 15-10 games he’ll get time in the 1st half, get in foul trouble then go to the bench, 2nd halves he’ll get a few minutes then after the 1st foul he’ll be back on the bench never to be seen again. The rest of the season he’ll be waving a towel.

No way _’antoni has changed that much in less than a year.

How does he have hands of stone when it comes to rebounding and then hands of Charmin on offense? I’m still trying to figure that out.

You cannot go one post without bashing D’antoni. Did he steal your girlfriend, steal your milk money or are you just a psycho?

HaS has a point but when your job is on the line (im sure many of us have been there) it will make you change a whole lot. Dantoni will be FORCED to play this guy..

It looked to me like he was being coached to box out like crazy and let his teammates get the rebounds.

The Crushin Russian!

too early?

Hah no just a mind-reader apparently

Like I’ve said before, the idea that D’Antoni will not play a traditional Big man is unwarented. What is that based on?

He was unhappy to have to play an over-the-hill Shaq?

He didn’t give Jake voskil enough PT?

When did have a legit center that he refused to play

I like this kid and can see him becoming a better rebounder as plays in the NBA. He is too active not to be a successful rebounder. How many players have we seen with his skill set, effort and size not become a pretty good rebounder. He will be cleaning up anything Amare misses. Playing with Amare will make it much easier for him to rebound. The coach will play him in spurts until he gets a bettr feel for the game then he will likely crack the rotation. The biggest thing that seperates him from Darko is his motor, effort and body language. That will get him more time and a nod from the coch. No coach cam ignore effort. Hustle players get minutes in the NBA period.

so he plays for new jerz = lol get it right capt HE’S A KNICK

HaS doesn’t repect MDan, but HaS raises a fair point. MDan is under pressure to win as many games as possible, and MDan is really stubborn, will he give this project the proper minutes needed to develop Moz so he can contribute in playoff games? I like MDan, but I’m not sure he will. Except, DW may order MDan to play Moz, and MDan last year MDan a good soldier following DW orders to give minutes to certain players to set up salary dumps etc.

“Like I’ve said before, the idea that D’Antoni will not play a traditional Big man is unwarented. What is that based on?”

It may be unwarented, but it definitely is warranted.

He was happy playing Marion at PF and Amar’e at center or Chandler and Lee at the 4 and 5, he likes those types of lineups. That his ideal way to play. He like a big man who can shoot the jumpshot, Mozgov may be a lot of things, but he isn’t a jumpshooter.

My overall point is that Mozgov is obviously very unpolished and will (like any rookie, especially one who’s goal is to be a defensive presence) make silly fouls, between that and the fact that _’antoni’s “job is on the line” he’s going to play his best players or the players he trusts the most.

I highly doubt that will include Tiny Tim by the end of the year when the playoff race gets tighter.

THE “SWAT TEAM” sounds cool but I prefer an team oriented defense. Weak side and rotation help will be a major place of improvement for the knicks. They will get chances to block shoots but i will prefer a team defense that averages around 92-95 ppg. if we can maintain our scoring which we should (this team is way better than last year) i see a 50 game winning season…help defense and weak side defense is all about effort and i think 3 out the 4 guys you mention are more than capable… hope to see it happen…

Not a mind reader, I’ve just seen this movie before.

I hate that guy. I listened to the live stream of the game (I’m from the UK so that’s all I got), and he was really, really annoying. Kept getting so much wrong as well.

The “coach” has blindsided Walsh in the past, _’antoni is not the “good soldier” type imho.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

He’s playing Argentina now btw. Just tuned in and the stream never shows the boxscore, but I came in just as he got another poor foul call for a block.

I’m guessing NBA refs will be a little easier on these types of plays than FIBA refs.

I like Monster, but um yeah, I guess too early

goood point -we all know how stubborn mike is but this time he has no excuses- either he sets his rotation or donnie should put him on the hot seat!!

“He was happy playing Marion at PF and Amar’e at center”

They did pretty good with that lineup. But again, they never had a legit C to push those guys to their more traditional positions. Same can be said for Playing Lee at the 5. Who else did he have? He had no viable option. And don’t tell me Darko.

I want the knicks to play to win, not develop Moz. He should only play if he earns the right in the preseason, practice and whatever time he gets in the reg season. That is “holding guys accountable”

I stand corrected, playing Lee worked out great if the goal was 50 loss seasons.

His job was on the line in Phoenix and we all know how that ended.

By the way HaS is not the only one to call this Guy out. I have called him a fraud numerous times for various reason. Everyone that is calling HaS out for not kissing this coaches azz hasn’t been reading this site enough.

DARKOOOO!!!!!!!

I didn’t know Mosgov was going to play for the Nets next season.When did the Knicks trade him?

Mosgov played well, russia started to screw up for the US when Mosgov got his 5th foul and went out of the game. U know, something to consider, everything is thinking that the plan is to get Anthony next summer and paul the year after, something to consider, next summer there is also Vince Carter, Jason Richardson, Yao Ming and JR smith as FA’s as well, they can use a SG right, 3 of those 4 guys are, Tim Duncan is a FA also, but I think he goes back to Spurs, now the year after, along with Paul and Deron Williams being FA’s, Steve Nash and Jason Kidd will be FA’s as well. I think we would be more likely to lure Nash or Kidd to the Garden then Paul and Deron Williams.

Rookies get no respect.

Where’s the link to the game?

The fraud we have as a coach is also one of the worse communicators (coach to player) that I have ever seen in our home court.

TBB76- I would not touch Vince carter in free agency he is done. Ill take JRich and T. Chandler next year with what ever space we have available. A line up of

C Chandler
Pf Amare
SF Gallo
SG J Rich
PG Felton

Bench
AR
TD
Resigned Will
Moz
Turiaf

that would be a good team good match of scoring and defense and depth and age with playoff tested players.

cant wait to see how this guy does this season. and btw, im no dantoni fan, but to anyone who thinks he wont play mozgov i think ure wrong. with the way this guy moves for a big guy, theres no reason why he wouldnt play him. hes a 7 footer, but he can move very quickly and fluidly which is perfect for dantoni’s system.

i just hope the team as a whole can have some good team defense, especially in the 2-3 zone which we’ll need to beat miami.

You keep avoiding the question. We all know last year’s team was not built to win. He put out the best he had.

Who was the viable option on Pheonix or the knicks? There was no better alternative.

his job was on the line in phoenix but he still managed to get over 50 wins each year- and its been proven that having shaq changes the teams whole system therefore disrupts any kind of chemistry and resultin into losses– not only in phoenix but it happened to cavs tooo!!!

@Has

You are right I doubt D’Antoni will play this kid but if Walsh still has power or at least gives a Hoot; I believe Walsh will insist he(Mozgov) gets some playing time. I feel strongly that Walsh will be leaving at the end of this season or after the draft. The good new is that if Walsh does leave then we are sure to see D’Antoni leave also.

Mozgov looked good to me. On that AndOne againt Chandler he showed that he has some natural talent. I think he will be more succesful in the NBA than a player like Milicic because he will be a role player. He will learn how to rebound because you see the fire and his passion for the game, unlike Eddy Curry. I’m afraid that his fire and passion for the game may be destroyed if he plays for D’Antoni for too long. I loved how he protected the paint in the middle. The foul or block on Rose sent a
message. That is what I wanted to see, now all we need is Oakley to show him how not to waist a foul like that and instead make sure you put him on his butt.

I’m optimistic. He’s a good sign and should not be a bust. At least he’ll be better than Jordan Hill. He has good court sense. Don’t expect him in the rotation this year. Go Mozzy!

Oh boy don’t mention the 90s team because people around here are sensitive about that subject.

I’m not avoiding the question, he should have given Darko a real shot at the 5. Not sure why you say don’t “tell (you) Darko” lol. He’s better than Mozgov is right now and everyone seems to think he’s deserving of playing time. No reason the Knicks couldn’t have brought in Barron ages earlier either, we already knew Lee at center was a losing formula.

Darko > Lee at center. Period.

Actually, you can’t even say for sure that Darko is better then Moz until you see Moz play in the NBA. Darko would not even be in the NBA right now if it weren’t for Kahn.

There was no winning formula last year. Red arbauch couldn’t have gotten that team to the playoffs.

You are just blinded by your _’Antoni ideology.

Darko is not a winning player. There is no way to make that argument.

My point is that his job was on the line because he was asked to play just a little bit of defense and he refused. That got him fired.

I have said this a milling times. He might go 82-0 during the regular season but in he playoffs is adidferent monster.

When Mozgov played his plus/minus had to be +10000…team USA could not stop his size and could not stop the pick and roll. Mozgov’s master block on Derrick Rose impressed the hell out of me and showed me this kid can play at the NBA level on both ends of the floor. Mozgov was called on a foul on that block when it was clearly NOT A FOUL. He should have stayed in the game. USA squeaked out of that game. He might be raw but he has the size and the tools to be a good center in the NBA.

I do believe its fair to say this dude is ready……he has skill and more importantly, heart…….let’s go knicks.

Last years team not built to win????

What!!!!!

Do you want me to go Herman Edwards on you…

What impresses me most about Mozgov is how well he finishes with contact. He had so many and 1s in this tournament, I think if he can develop a 10- 15 foot jumper along with his already very good skills inside of 5 feet he could be great offensively.
Defensively he is great at challenging and altering shots and he hustles back down the floor. He should be able to be an above average defender once he steps on the court.

Walsh and Dantoni leaving is not necessarily a good thing if it means Zeke coming back. Be careful what you wish for…

HAS you just never have anything upbeat or positive to say huh? I pretty much hate people like that. Whatever…I see your level of objectivity though…

nono j_starks – he was asked to change his whole system for shaq- who pretty much changed the whole teams concept MIDSEASON!! thats pretty hard for a coach to manage considerin shaqs ego!

terry porter was asked to play more D but then he got fired

You can’t foul too hard in today’s NBA. You get flagrant’s called…

+1 j_starks3…..It is just crazy how people trip when the truth is said. MD has always put his ego ahead of the best interest of his teams! Thats not made up it is a demonstrated fact! Will he allow a defensive specialist join his coaching staff? no! Would he expand his rotation when he needed to? No determined to be right at the expenses of the team. Stop being Groupies grow up and see the truth when it is right in your face!!

nono ive noticed that flagrants are called way too easily here in Europe- and as you have seen in the World Championships

nono only the players we wanted out had bad relationships with dantoni- those are the likes of marbury- hughes- darko- curry — i think u get my point!!

we didnt hear anything bad comin out of lee – duhon- harrington – jamal- zach when they left!!1

Wow after reading the posts I’m already starting to make a wing and a bust for Mosgov in the NBA Hall of Fame. Man the way some of y’all talk its like he is the second coming of Russell, Wilt and Mutumbo all in one. Hardly nobody in the NBA wanted him we got him and now we see clips and daily comments about him like he is the key to our season. Smh only the Knicks I’m not even gonna disrespect and say only in NY.

Lee, for all his flaws led all centers in scoring and assists.

But he is not better than Darko.

Zeke is and always will be here as you can see what happened this summer. I wish we could keep Walsh but I think he is fed up with Dolan and Zeke. As long as the D’Antoni that i have seen the last few seasons is history I will be satisfied.

A good hard foul is necessary to get respect. If you watched the celtics play you will see that it is very effective.

Yeah and if Kobe played the 4 he would lead all power forwards in scoring.

Lee is NOT a center!!!!

HoF? Give me a break, people are saying he could get 10-15 minutes a game. That’s not unreasonable.

“Hardly nobody in the NBA wanted him”

Seriously, what are you talking about. Portland tried to sign him last year and got shot down. The announcers in the USA/Russia game were saying that he would easily have been a mid-first round pick this year. He held his own against a USA squad that would easily be among the best in the NBA… what more do you want from a rookie??

Yeah, he went undrafted, but that was 2 years ago when he was really, really raw. Do your homework man, just ’cause YOU haven’t heard of someone doesn’t mean GMs around the league don’t know what’s up.

yeah of course- im totally in agreement with that!! but players nowadays are scared to give hard fouls as not only they get flagrants but they may also get suspended or even fined after the game when being evaluated by stu jackson!!

Preach Pavvy.

Why does the “Mike D’antoni hater association” kill him for shunning the most unprofessional of Knick players?

I’d stick to the valid points like defense/rotations etc and kill this communication crap. I give him props for sitting the clowns and dealing with them accordingly.

Funny how all the best players in the league sing his praises lol but the overpaid has beens and the “ME” players have issues with his “communication”. unreal how petty this blog can sound at times.

MIND BOGGLING.

Mozgov played like a big man, rare in the NBA these days. Thats all I hoped to see today and I saw it.

I am confident, at a glance that we do indeed have a player. How good NBA wise remains to be seen…obviously.

Lets go Knicks.

the kid will get PT for the simple fact that he makes things happen on the pick and roll and he’s not stagnant on offense (see E. Curry or Shaq).

The kids got a motor and isn’t completely unreliable on offense. Best of all, he doesn’t need the ball to score and isn’t selfish.

James? Kobe? Wade? Melo? Durant? CP3? Howard? Phooey i say-WE GOT MOZ!! He’s the greatest player ever. The sky’s the limit for this franchise.

Rookie center for New York cabron!!!!

SERIOUSLY! That was soo clean and most of the fouls they called on Mozzy were BS. Mike needs to make time for Mozgov he is a pick and roll monster.
I know Team USA does not even have a real center but David Lee wouldn’t do that against TEAM USA Defensively so he’s an upgrade lol.

I liked what I saw today. I think he’ll play. We’re going to have serious size and athleticism this year!

One fear is that there’s not a lot of precedent for succesful big min from Europe who are low-skilled but big and athletic. Maybe Gortat? Players like Vrankovic who put up big stats in Europe and was bigger and more athletic failed to make it here.

MosGovernator

6 other teams wanted Mozzy this year HE PICKED NY Out of those teams.

Ok thanks for letting me know that a couple of teams wanted him, but Mosgov wanted to play for us, that makes me feel so much better smh. Be realistic here if he bombs in the NBA and barely plays I guess its all Mike Dantoni’s fault or give him time to learn how the NBA game is played or hey he wasnt expected to contribute much. Too many excuses for Knick fans nowadays. When Mosgov doesn’t play up to high expectations that some of yall fans put up on him I don’t want to hear any more excuses.

What expectations? He has a $3mm/year contract that’s guaranteed for what, one year? Two?

If he even plays 10-15 minutes a game and gets a few garbage buckets and blocks a shot he’ll be earning his paycheck. And the upside is he looks he could be at least that good, maybe better.

whe did he get traded to N.J?…….

he can go down as the best euro player ever.

With all due respect to my fellow Knick fan Mosgov supporters if he plays 10-15 minutes blocks or alters a couple shots and gets garbage baskets and then sits the bench for the rest of the game warrants countless vid clips of him in game action and all the wishful hoping he can be so much more where do I sign up for the kool aid special. I’ve heard it all from 40+ wins and the playoffs last year to this year where who needs Melo we got 2 future AllStars in Gallo and Randolph who can be the man for not just our team but other teams as well to now Mosgov is this and that. Sorry but I live in the now and what is real not what I hope may happen. To look at baseball in terms of mindsets the Yankees have a couple of homegrown players but they would sign or trade whatever to get the Arod or Texiera’s who are bigger stars and big parts of their team compared to the core while the Mets fans prefer to keep their own and win or lose with them rather than admit their homegrown players are not good enough to to take them to that next level. If some Knick fans want that so be it I will be one of the few to disagree.

“He was happy playing Marion at PF and Amar’e at center or Chandler and Lee at the 4 and 5, he likes those types of lineups.”

Yeah, you’re right. I would have preferred Dwight Howard too. Dantoni sucks for not having a better big man than Lee.

Didn’t Amar’e need a sit-down to “clear the air” to play for his old “coach” like I said, where there is smoke there is fire.

Does anyone know what number he’s going to wear? Seeing how he can’t wear 15.

“Dantoni sucks for not having a better big man than Lee.”

He had a better “big man” than Lee. Anyone would have been a better option to protect the pain than the human turnstile or the mangina on defense that is _avi_ Lee.

A better question is, does anybody truly care?

Whatever number he wants-can there be any doubt that it will be up in the Garden rafters someday?

Why stop there? Let him take his rightful place on the throne next to Wilt, Russell, Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq . . . He’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen. And he’s all ours!

Yep right next to Clyde, Pat, Gallo and Randolph to name a few.

I’m a little intrigued I would like to know who is going to guard who when the Heat plays the Knicks and the Celts play our team being this is the more athletic and exciting group of Knicks I would like to know if we have a chance.

Since when does our coach worry about who is guarding who? It’s all about “the system”, man. Who gets to take the most ill-advised shots? That’s all that matters.