Posted by Paladin55:

I will not get as excited about his game against the Nets as people got about his less than stellar performance in the SL, when his jumper was about as accurate as Balkman’s, but he has slowly become a totally different player from the guy we saw in SL.

You can see the confidence in his game, both defensively and offensively. On D he has been the guy we were told about after he was drafted. He was not that guy in the SL, where I thought his attention on D wandered at times, and he was gambling too much. Over the course of the pre-season he has shown himself to be a ballhawk type of PG, who can drive opponents crazy with steals and the ability to anticipate where a loose ball will be before the ball knows where it is going.

On offense he was a totally different Toney Douglas the other night, and you have to be excited about the way he imposed himself against the Nets, from the outside and on drives. He also seems much more confident in taking his shot, and I expect that he will even become more accurate as his confidence builds and he gets a better idea of what he can and can’t do in this league against the competition he will face.

All of this doesn’t mean that he will now be doing these things on a regular basis against top competition, but you got a sense the other day that he belongs in this league and that by the end of the year, or even earlier, he is going to be a major contributor to this team.

He has made me think that he has all the tools to be a successful player in the NBA- maybe not All-Star quality- but the type of guy who can play a key role on an outstanding team, and maybe even be a leader.

The way he carries himself also appeals to me. What actually impressed me the most was how he acted after be made that crazy shot where he ended up on his back. Nate and Duhon are going crazy like little kids as the team on the floor comes to the bench during the timeout, and there’s Douglas calmly walking off the floor with his usual game face. He only cracked a smile after being mobbed by the rest of the team. No jumping around or dancing like a clown- nothing even hinting at the arrogance, elation, or planned histrionics that we see from players whenever they do some of the simple things they are being paid millions to do.

My real point in making this post, though, is that Douglas’ recent performance is the reason why you can’t make snap judgments on players after a few early games. (Is this a snap judgment on my part?? We will see.) Many were excited about his D after SL, but some folks were fearful that he could not shoot the ball or even drive to the basket with any sort of success, even though the guy was a legit scorer in college, and you could see that his SL shooting motion was too tight when compared with the clips of him that were available from his time in college.

Unlike Gallo, who still has some catching up to do physically (Injury recover and maturation.), and Hill, who does not yet have a mature understanding of the game, Douglas is physically mature and seems like a gym rat type of player, who knows the game well. His problem in SL was a lack of confidence- he never seemed to find that comfort zone. I don’t feel he has the upside of Gallinari or Hill, but he seems better prepared, in an all-around way, to play in the NBA than the other two at this point in time. You also sense that he will get everything out of his talent that he can get.

Too many folks have a “chicken little” attitude when looking at young players. You are so busy getting upset about what you think you are seeing, or trying to be the first to declare a player to be a future star or future bum, that you never see, or even consider, the big picture. Guys develop at different rates, based on their individual maturity, BB intelligence, and where they are as players when they first come into this league. With young players you put the good things they do into the plus category, but wait for awhile before putting the bad aspects of their game into the minus category. You give them time to make mistakes and learn from them, while they build on their strengths. You don’t rip them apart before they have a chance to evolve as players. None of us know how Gallo, Hill, Douglas, Chandler, or Landry will be looking by the end of the year- you can only watch.

Hard to be patient if you are a Knicks fan, but that is the only thing you can really control as a fan, and you have to be patient with the development of the young guys on the Knicks. Douglass’ performance against the Nets does not mean he will become a future hall of famer, even the Knicks PG of the future, but it should give some of you cause to think before you tear down a young player.

Posted by TRU:

Whenever I have a hard time appreciating TD (or having the luxury of watching all of our young players like DLee, Nate, Chan, Gallo, and Hill develop) I just think back to the days were BOTH Clarence Weatherspoon and Othella Harrington were wearing orange and blue.

Posted by TRU:

seb,

I feel like we have a few high ceiling players. Going on just looks, Gallo, Chan, Lee, and Nate could all end up on an allstar team. Probably none of them will, but the all have this unquantifiable characteristic refered to as "upside."

TD doesn't outwardly look like he'd develop into an All Star, like you said. That, however is why i like the pick. Too often these GMs are shooting for the moon instead of drafting for need and skill set.

I firmly believe that you can't turn a hooker into a housewife, so to speak. That's what it looks like management sought/seeks to do with J. Hill.

[Edited by - tru on 10-24-2009 8:17 PM]

My real point in making this post, though, is that Douglas’ recent performance is the reason why you can’t make snap judgments on players after a few early games.