The one most important thing Gallinari did today was keep his head up when he couldve sulked and made himself a play on hustle on that backside putback. I think that he should move in and use the mid-range game which seems to be more his game. I hate when players sit behind the 3 point line and wait for the game to coem to them--when he moved towards the basket---better things happened. When you sit behind the 3 point line--you are out of the play and stare at a low % shot. He's long and should use that length with the mid range game.

Boy Cleveland must be gushing with their pick--that kid is a monster

Lampe taught me to curb my summer league enthusiasm... but I did like how after a lame first half Gallo forced the action and had a good impact on the game. You read so much about how tough he is... thats a good sign. Chandler looks great.

Posted by dacash:

how do i add pics??

if it's porn use the [porn][/porn] tags, anything else use [ img][ /img] without the spaces.

not to say that mardy did'nt look good, bacause he did, but he does'nt seem to fit a d'antoni run team. he played good 'd', he looked better physicaly, and shooting the ball, just does'nt set people up well or push the ball fast enough.

Posted by PresIke:

All these posts for the first SL game?

Wow.

it's been a 7 year drought man.

7 years and now a bit of light shining thru with Chandler and Gallo. It's gonna be real tough for me to wait for Training camp this year.

We've got a long ways to go. I'm happy I have 2 players I can root for now because I can't watch a game with the likes of Curry and Crawford.

[Edited by - gkfv2 on 07-14-2008 11:27 PM]

I wanted to see more of Delonte Holland. It looked like he could shoot.

Gallo needs to add strength, he also doesn't jump high at all for rebs though he does have long arms. He got scored on a lot early but he was right there challenging everything. I will admit if he was a better athlete he would have probably made some stops on those plays early on.

Briggs made a good assesment of the difference in him standing at the 3pt line and him going to work around the free throw line area.

He is really skilled though. Jumpers off the dribble, step back jumpers, then there is the fact that he could take you off the dribble and take it to the rack as well. Those things make up for a deadly scorer. Press him and he will drive on you and get to the line, give him space and he will nail the jumper. I would love nothing more for him to develop a back to basket game as well but it won't happen unless he adds more weight and strength.

Personally I think he is a yr away of NBA weight lifting and experience. He probably will start of slow in the begining of the yr. Then play well in like the last 2 months of the season. Something like what Chandler did last yr.

Posted by PhilinLA:

I have a pretty strong suspicion that Gallo hangs where the coaches have told him to hang.

You are right on with that comment. I think he is one of guys who understands what D'Antoni wants, and at times is too respectful to deviate. I also thought there were a few times when he should have been passed to and was ignored.

Gallinari looked very tentative in the first half, especially regarding his defensive assignments, although I don't think anybody is going to question his ability to play defense due to a lack of lateral quickness after seeing how he moved. Even when he was having trouble and making some poor decisions, he played D. He was helping out on defense, had a block, almost chased down and blocked the shot of a player who was on a breakaway because of a Gallinari turnover, and contested other shots.

On offense you could see that he was nervous the first half. Although one of the 3's he took was in and out of the basket, you could see that he was not a confident player. He was also VERY deferential, and did not try to force things. I also have to add that he was fouled on both ends of the court, without anything being called. I think that getting to the line earlier in the game might have helped his confidence in his jumper and broken the ice, but the refs did not help. Once he got settled in, though, we saw flashes of how good he can be. He has an effortless and smooth jumper- his final 4 shots did not touch the rim- and he finally started showing the driving ability that got him to the line so many times in Europe. They let him be the primary ball handler, and you could see the ability he has to do something positive with the ball. At times he looked like a shooting guard. He also made some nice passes in the first half, even when he was struggling.

As everyone has pointed out, he has to get stronger. Even when he boxed out, he was being pushed out of position, but at least he was boxing out. He did end up with 6 rebounds, but if he is to play the 4, he has to be stronger, especially for defensive rebounding. He really needs to work on his lower body strengh. I think his post-up game is better than what we saw, but I would like some stronger moves and maybe a short hook shot. He also looked tired early in the game, although I think that had as much to do with nervousness as anything else. His body has some cuts, but he still looks young and loose jointed, physically. I think it will take 2 years until he becomes an NBA "man."

During the game it even looked like Gallinari was directing traffic at times. Maybe you guys who have played higher level ball could indicate to me the signficance of this and whether it really meant anything. He seemed to be the primary Knick doing this. A sign of intelligence and leadership?

As for the rest of the team. I was someone who really questioned Chandler's jump shot. I admit that I was wrong. He looks confident as a shooter, and was using the backboard better than anyone the Knicks have had in years. Yeah, it is summer league, but an open jumper is an open jumper, a bank shot is a bank shot. If this is the kind of shooting we can expect from him, he is going to be a stud, and Isiah is going to have to be given a pat on the butt for seeing the potential.

Like someone asked earlier, why weren't people talking more about the game Collins had. This guy's problem has always been a lack of confidence, in my opinion. When he gets into the flow of things, he can be a very nice player. He played with confidence today, and his shot looked improved. Remember, this is how he looked during the end of his rookie year, when he finished the season with a nice run of games, so you cannot necessarily use the "It is just a SL game" refrain with him. I have to tell you, I wish Nate would stay away and let Mardy play more. He plays good D, has good size, and is not a shoot first point. Best case comparison for him IMHO, is a poor man's Andre Miller, and that is something I think we could all live with as a backup PG.

Balkman was Balkman. Plays D like a demon, and hustles, but he could not even make a foul shot. Did he actually try to improve his J during the offseason??? It also looks like he did no work in the weightroom. He is a true warrior, but he brings a sword to a battle when everyone else is packing a gun.

Roberson. Like some said- he is a black hole. He made shots at the beginning of the game. Great! Once he proved to everyone he could shoot- why not try to show that he could pass? The guy has a jumper, but the one time he tried to pass, he was called for a charge. Might be good for instant offense, but we already have Nate for that.

Holland. Looked like his Italian League self the first time he got the ball, and then disappeared. I think that he has to be a primary handler to be effective, and that ain't happening here.

I was VERY happy with what I saw. Of the 4 guys I was looking at- Gallo, Chandler, Mardy, and Balkman, only Balkman disappointed me. Although only a SL game, I think D'Antoni must have come away with a smile on his face.

[Edited by - Paladin55 on 07-15-2008 02:39 AM]