D’Antoni talks about tomorrow’s game in Boston…

Jared Jeffries, Marcus Landry and Jordan Hill putting in some extra work after practice.

The pace was fast and furious. A lot of players, mixed combinations, but the message from Coach Mike D’Antoni was clear. 

All I ask is that you put the effort in to try and get better.

And they did. Granted, shots weren’t really falling on the wire-tight rims and turnovers were rampant, but Thursday night was all about pushing through and focusing on improving on mistakes.

David Lee got his mid range shot blocked by the long, left arm of Darko Milicic, but later attacked the basket with a Lee-esque reverse . Milicic, who missed a chippy off a beautiful pass from Danilo Gallinari, continued to try and hit the mid range and asked for the ball in the post. Notice I said “asked” and not “begged” or “pleaded” like Al Harrington did before finding Lee on a beautiful post pass to Lee flashing in the paint. When you want the ball, I mean really WANT the ball in the post you make sure you get it. 

Gallinari’s legs weren’t into his jumpshot, but believe me that’s got nothing to do with his back. And it was a great sign that he was missing a few jumpers because it allowed him to show off his tremendous passing skills on drives off shot fakes.

Say what you want about Chris Duhon but be careful. Hahn and I joked that you may see him in your beer league when you get older finding spots, finding teammates, and just making plays.

Nate Robinson was being Nate. Explosive and chatty, getting instructions on defense from a relatively frustrated Dan D’Antoni and shooting shots from half court in his down time. But, man is he impressive.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, was the play of Jared Jeffries who finished with both hands around the rim. I was impressed. Granted, I think if Jeffries were a $3 million dollar player on the Spurs, he’d play 20 minutes a night and play until late May or June. Get used to him, the coach likes what he does.

 The outside-looking-in guys? Joe Crawford impressed that’s about it. Sun Yue (sorry bro, mistook you for Yi in my tweet) can shoot, but is a little too for me frail on the perimeter. Toney Douglas really locked him up.

Anything else you’d like to know follow my Tweets, or leave a question below. I’m here for the rest of the week. 

Oh, and the video? Being produced- will be up in a few…

Before we get into the “who” let’s give an accurate guess-essment today as to where the Knicks will be drafting since we have no idea. It’s a foregone conclusion that they won’t be relinquishing their 1st round pick in the Marbury deal as it’s “Top 8 protected” meaning they’d have to finish with the a top 8 best-record in the NBA in order to have to give it away to the Jazz.

So as it stands right now the team is in 16th place and if you know the draft, players vault themselves back and forth as the year goes on. But here are the guys I think fit D’Antoni’s system and would be great additions to the Knicks. We know about Jennings and Rubio, but they may not be there when the Knicks draft. We’ll do plenty of these throughout the course of the year so that when you see a game on TV you can check out their skills and conclude if you like them as future Knicks. One of them probably will be.

Stephen Curry 6-1 180 G (Davidson)

No secret here. The kid burst on the scene last March and has simply gotten better. His 40-plus performance at Oklahoma last week proved that he’s got the range and he’s beefed up enough to be an NBA player. Imaging this kid with space in D’Antoni’s offense? Yes, he’s a tweener, I’ve got him as Juan Dixon with range, but I imagine that he’d be Anthony Roberson 2.0 because he’s better now and create off the dribble. When he’s hot the kid just doesn’t miss. The interesting thing will be where does he go? Is he a lottery pick or do teams shy away because of his size?

Raymar Morgan, 6’8 225 F (Michigan State)

A bruising forward is not exactly what the Knicks need but this kid is someone to keep an eye on. He’s strong, explosive and can score with limited touches, yet we’d like to see him a little more before we call him a good shooter. Can’t wait for Big 10 season.

Gani Lawal, 6-9 233 PF (Georgia Tech)

This kid has the chance to be an animal on the boards and in blocking shots, but he is a horrid free throw shooter (less than 50%). He has a 7’1 wingspan and is very raw and his lack of fundamentals kept him out of last year’s draft.

Should he shine in the ACC this year and improve his shooting mechanics and basic footwork fundamentals, he could go anywhere from the late lottery to mid-first round.

Ty Lawson, 6-0 195 PG (North Carolina)

The thing that bothers me about Lawson is that everyone has concluded he is Ray Felton. He isn’t. Granted he needs to shoot it better, but I’ve never seen anyone faster with the ball…ever.

Imagine him in D’Antoni’s offense? Plus he is a ball-hawking defender, and by year’s end he’ll establish himself as a top point guard prospect, should he stay healthy.

Via WCBS-TV in NY..

“…Harrison police were sent to the home of former Knicks president Isiah Thomas early Friday morning in response to a call that he had overdosed on sleeping pills, a source confirmed to CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City.

Thomas’ condition or whereabouts are not yet known.

Other reports confirm that police did arrive at Thomas’ home shortly after midnight in response to a 911 call from a cell phone, but they would not confirm why.

A source, however, told WCBS that Thomas’ condition was being classified as an overdose…”

Google News reports:

“…Harrison Police were called to Isiah Thomas’ house last night around midnight for a report of a possible overdose.

Police confirmed they were at the home, but refused to discuss any details.

Published reports say the call came in just after midnight, describing a 46-year-old male at the Azalea Circle home. It was not indicated whether drugs or alcohol were involved. Thomas is 47.

New York Knicks officials would only say that Isiah Thomas is fine, which was reiterated by Mike Dougherty, whose paper The Journal News is in the neighborhood…”

The Knicks will hold an open practice this Sunday at Pace University in Pleasantville. Doors open at 10 and practice starts at 11. Yours truly will be on hand so stop by and give me a pound.

Click here for directions to Pace.

“…D’Antoni’s connection to the Raptors’ front office goes back nearly 20 years, to when he coached in Italy and his boss was Maurizio Gherardini, , who works under Raptors president Bryan Colangelo. Colangelo gave D’Antoni his big break in Phoenix following D’Antoni’s brief and unsuccessful run as coach of the Denver Nuggets.

Gherardini could emerge as a possible GM candidate in New York. Team president Donnie Walsh is not ruling out adding another executive to his staff. Walsh and Colangelo met before Wednesday night’s game.

Music to my ears Frank.

Last season, I had Gherardini on top of my list of presidents after Isiah Thomas, and mentioned it in an article I wrote for RealGM.com. Dolan chose Walsh, which I think was very wise, but adding the man who owns Europe from a basketball standpoint would help the Knicks tremendously.

“…Basketball is different now in Toronto, however, thanks in most part to Colangelo, who has twice been named NBA executive of the year himself, in 2005 and most recently, last season after leading the Raptors to nearly 50 wins. Perhaps Colangelo’s best move over the last few years, aside from trading Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford, was to hire Maurizio Gherardini.

For those in the basketball know, Gherardini is the most influential voice in European basketball. Upon returning to his native Italy following a visit to the United States as an exchange student, Gherardini began the organization of basketball camps as well as clinics and also prepared the first ever coaches clinic in Europe. That coaches clinic brought such NBA legends as Bob McAdoo, Hubie Brown and Bill Walton to Italy. Gherardini turned Benetton Treviso into a European superpower, captaining them to four league championships (1997, 2002, 2003 and 2006), three Italian “Supercups” (1997, 2001 and 2002), made four appearances in the Euroleague’s final four.

His knowledge of the game ranks among the world’s best, and as one NBA executive put it, to have Gherardini, means to have Europe. The question now becomes, is the NBA ready for a European executive. Well, it almost was in 2003 when Gherardini was interview for the GM position with the Charlotte Bobcats, finishing second to Bernie Bickerstaff.

All you have to do is open your eyes to see that around the world the game has changed. United States-born players have their hands full during International competitions and the production of European talent is just getting started. Let’s face it, if a European player can be taken first overall in the NBA draft, European executives are soon to follow and the Knicks can’t pass up an opportunity on one. And judging from the success that the Spurs have had since adding Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, in addition to the successes of Dirk Nowitzki, Yao and Pao Gasol, it’s easy to see that there is talent around the world- not just in the inner city of Chicago…”

Needless to say this with the direction the game is headed, this would be a superlative move by Donnie Walsh.

It’s a young man’s system, except if your name is Nash, and the combination of David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson accounted for 53 points as the team battled a very solid Raptors team to the buzzer.

What did the team in were sloppy mistakes and bad habits, combined with poor 3- point shooting. Chris Duhon and Stephon Marbury, who along with Robinson and Chandler helped erase an early 6-point 1st-quarter lead, combined for 12 turnovers. The team as a whole shot just 8-34 from behind the arc in D’Antoni’s shot-friendly system.

Despite his horrendous number of turnovers, Duhon played well defensively, and can help this team in many ways fans haven’t seen, but it was Robinson who constantly got caught under screens, which allowed for open looks that killed the team down the stretch.

Chris Bosh, a free agent in 2010 who would fit D’Antoni’s system to a tee, led the Raptors with 20 points.

In addition to the young legs, by far the most impressive Knick was Lee, whose work on his outside shot, something he prided himself on during the offseason, was extremely evident. Fans have heard about improvements like Eddy Curry, (who did not play) learning to block shots, but Lee’s work is obvious and should take his game to another level.

The Knicks return to action Friday night against Elton Brand and the 76ers.

Back in 2006, both Jose Reyes and David Wright were ruling the National League, on their way to helping the Mets to their first division crown in almost two decades. GM Omar Minaya wasted little time in keeping the two, locking them up to 4- and 6-year deals, respectively, in early August.

Turns out it wasn’t that hard, as the two wanted to be here. So much so, that they inked the extensions on the same day. It was your classic home town discount.

Now the Knicks, as has been heavily documented, have similar decisions to make. Lee, a close friend of Wright, has also professed his love for this city. TKB reported that Walsh has taken Lee off the trade table and wants to sign him, and the reports surfaced in the papers last week. On the other hand, Nate, who may have been the most impressive player in camp in Saratoga, has stayed surprisingly quiet. But he’s ready to assume the Leandro Barbosa role in D’Antoni’s system. Barbosa’s success earned him almost $7 million a year.

With the Knicks salary cap woes, can the team afford to sign both Lee, who’s market value is sure to be in the 5-year-35 million dollar range (if Udonis Haslem is getting between $6 and $7 million per) and Nate?

Would the two take hometown discounts? Maybe one-year extensions with the idea of sitting down after 2010? I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Figuring how to keep both in Knick uniforms will be one of the main story lines to watch this season.

Let me start by saying I’m a pretty godawful basketball player. I may be short, but I’m also very slow, can’t jump (apologies to Woody Harrelson) and I’m not really that good at…well…getting the ball to go in the basket. (I’m also an asthmatic smoker so I tire easily, natch).

So where does this hubris come from? I’ve been a Knicks fan since the tail end of the ’79 season. My first distinct memory of which is crying myself to sleep upon learning that the ‘Bockers had traded Bob McAdoo, Spencer Haywood and Lonnie Shelton (my 3 fave players because they all had such cool names) had all been traded on the same day. And McAdoo was shipped to the hated Celts! (I don’t know why/how I hated the Bostonians at such a young age. It was just hardwired in my DNA, I guess).

Over the years I’ve seen about 1200 or so games. At 2.5 hrs/game that comes to approximately 3000 hours watching the blue and orange (and I think they dumped the ball into the post and stood around on offense and watched King/Ewing/Curry for at least 113 of those days). I don’t know if that’s impressive or sad or frightening or all of the above, but after that much time in the belly of the beast, you can tell what’s going to happen. You know when the other team is about to go on a run. You can smell a turnover coming like a fart in a tiny room. You can just feel which off-balance, turnaround three w/the 24 second clock expiring is gonna be the nail in the coffin

So no, I can’t diagram a play for shit or teach Eddy how to box out (though I’m not sure even Holzman could do that). But I certainly sense the flow and/or structure of a game. I’d certainly know when to bench a player and when to stick w/the hot hand. And I’d get some nifty assistants who could do things like organize practices and set up some drills, while I smiled, Buddha-like in the stands and doled out the appropriate reading material (take that Big Chief Triangle!).

And more importantly, I’m a theater maker. (Stop laughing. This is relevant). The same things that make for great basketball – rhythm, tempo, timing, discipline, and unselfishness – make for great theater. The director’s role is to get the ‘team’ to focus on something greater than itself, to realize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and to get a group of individuals w/differing skill sets and levels of ability And while you may say that dealing with a bunch of sensitive NY actor-types is a different kettle of fish from the NBA, the stereotype for both is uncannily similar — egotistical, whiny divas.

Which leads me to the Dunning-Kruger Effect…

Dunning-Kruger Effect (dun’-eng kroo’-guhr e-fekt’) The phenomenon wherein people who have little knowledge or skill tend to think they know more or have more skill than they do, while simultaneously overlooking or underestimating the knowledge and skills of others

The guys over at Basketbawful.blogspot.com were scribbling about this the other day w/r/t Marbs’s “Best PG in the NBA” statement et al. My immediate reaction was to start hollering, “SARAH PALIN! SARAH PALIN!” After a mild sedative, I was reminded of my own delusions of coaching grandeur and like a splash of cold water, I realized the idea that I could patrol the sidelines is complete and utter horseshit. And since I’m a good liberal and we/I have to analyze eeeeeeeeeverything, I thought about the converse to the above theory – that people of great skill and/or knowledge tend to underestimate their own abilities, mainly because they see and recognize all the things that they don’t know and all they ways in which they are inadequate to the particular task at hand. Which returned me to DK syndrome and balling. Maybe, to be a successful athlete (or politician or businessman or actor) you have to have a kind of blind determination/confidence/faith in your abilities, facts be damned. It’s why you don’t see too many “cerebral” basketball players. It’s not that players aren’t smart, it’s just a different kind of wisdom. Call it Zen, if you will. In the end, thought and doubt and contradiction (all the things one might value in another person) will always impede performance.

So boldly forth I go, back to my original thesis. I can coach this team. And if ya tell me I’m wrong, eff all y’all. God bless.

Editor’s note- The opinions of The Animal do not reflect those of the editors, but, you have to admit, the guy’s got, um, hootspa…

]]> http://www.theknicksblog.com/2008/10/07/i-think-i-can-be-great-as-knick-coach/feed/ 1 http://www.theknicksblog.com/2008/10/07/disk-history/ http://www.theknicksblog.com/2008/10/07/disk-history/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:04:49 +0000 Tommy Dee http://www.theknicksblog.com/?p=1496 Continue reading →]]> Rookie Danilo Gallinari‘s back issues has caused some concern with the Knicks and their fanbase. I am no doctor, but history should serve (along with advancements in medical treatments/technology) as a barometer for just how serious a bulging disk is. So before you jump off a cliff in anger over a draft bust, keep the following in mind.

Clearly, a 19-year-old with back problems is disturbing, as is the fact that bulging disks did go undiagnosed for a long period of time, so one has to wonder how closely Gallinar’s physical was monitored or if the team had any reservations. I’d assume they did not.

As stated above, the hit by Tractor Traylor did not cause the Bulging Disk, it was something Gallinari had played through for some period of time.

Most importantly, however, is the difference between a Herniated disk and a bulging disk. Knick fans will remember Larry Johnson’s struggles with a herniated disk, where the disk ruptures and pushes outside its normal boundary. LJ went from hi-flying Grandmama to grounded post player and three point shooter, but willed himself to be the heart and soul of those late 1990 teams. His workout regimine allowed him to continue playing, but LJ was forced to hang it up at the age of 32. Same for Larry Bird, whose career came to a close way too soon because of dibilitating disk injuries.

Many players have experienced bulging disks and have watched their careers decline almost instantaniously, mainly because the disks manifested themselves later in player’s career.  Charles Barkey, played the last 6 years of his career with a bulging disk, and he wasn’t exactly the model of heath. It appears Gallinari, with the right treatments can delay or hopefully avoid the disk from coming herniated. Gallinari has a few things working in his favor. First is his age. Time is on his side, and with anti-inflammatoriesCrohn’s disease
Inflammatory bowel disease
Ulcerative colitis and physicalPhysical activity
Physical exam frequency
Physical examination therapy treatments, the disk can shrink significantly. Gallinari also is a perimeter player who can go the basket, but he is not a high-impact leaper like LJ or Barkley was.

The point here is that a bulging disk is no death sentence, but it isn’t a great sign. Fans will have to be patient and wonder game in and game out what is going on with his back, which they shouldn’t have to with a rookie. But I don’t think there is any reason not to think, again, based on what we’ve seen, that Gallinari won’t have a long and productive career in NY.