Posted by BRIGGS:

I think skita is the one guy that deserves to be brought to camp with a serious shot at making the roster. I think he has played good team ball--his game looks mature---his 3 point shot is there---he blocked some shots---showed some driving abilities--he just look like a solid 10-11 spot roster guy who can come in at times to create mismatches and give us some quality diversified depth.

I think Morris Almond had a grand opportunity 4 days ago and started off very well in that first game and went down hill. I think it's going to be up to the Knicks if they want to bring him to camp--I dont know if he showed enough variety and his main guns werent good enough to justify anything other than consideration. Maybe he gets with the big club after working on some things and sees a bit more space--or maybe the Knicks need to look around at other more versatile players. Costner looked pretty diversified and had a nice 3 point stroke and a strong body. James Johnson looks like a young Paul Pierce.

I agree on Almond. He has only himself to blame if he doesn't get an opportunity. He looked to showcase himself too much like Roberson did last year. I think the coaching staff must have talked to him because in the last two games he may have look to pass a little more than he demostrated in the first two games. This is what happens with one dimensional players when their shots aren't falling. They look like ball hogs.

Skita to me hasn't done anything to impress me. He owned SL only a few years ago. His issue is training camp where everyone expects a lottery player to rear their head but only get scrub player. He improve on his post defense but he still doesn't have a post game. He still plays off the perimeter. After 7 years I expect he should be able to offer more.

Troubling observation.

TD deferred the ball handling to Acker and Almond at a very critical section of the game. He has to lead the team, that's what PG's do, very odd indeed

Boxscore?

Posted by Pharzeone:

Posted by BRIGGS:

I think skita is the one guy that deserves to be brought to camp with a serious shot at making the roster. I think he has played good team ball--his game looks mature---his 3 point shot is there---he blocked some shots---showed some driving abilities--he just look like a solid 10-11 spot roster guy who can come in at times to create mismatches and give us some quality diversified depth.

I think Morris Almond had a grand opportunity 4 days ago and started off very well in that first game and went down hill. I think it's going to be up to the Knicks if they want to bring him to camp--I dont know if he showed enough variety and his main guns werent good enough to justify anything other than consideration. Maybe he gets with the big club after working on some things and sees a bit more space--or maybe the Knicks need to look around at other more versatile players. Costner looked pretty diversified and had a nice 3 point stroke and a strong body. James Johnson looks like a young Paul Pierce.

I agree on Almond. He has only himself to blame if he doesn't get an opportunity. He looked to showcase himself too much like Roberson did last year. I think the coaching staff must have talked to him because in the last two games he may have look to pass a little more than he demostrated in the first two games. This is what happens with one dimensional players when their shots aren't falling. They look like ball hogs.

Skita to me hasn't done anything to impress me. He owned SL only a few years ago. His issue is training camp where everyone expects a lottery player to rear their head but only get scrub player. He improve on his post defense but he still doesn't have a post game. He still plays off the perimeter. After 7 years I expect he should be able to offer more.

yea, I saw right through almond from day 1. the guy is a nut... skita I would not mind inviting. he can shoot the three, is a willing defender and rebounder..... He can be of some use in this system..

I love admiring the female body just as much as anyone--and I liked the idea of kind of naming a top 40 list but this has gotten ridiculous. It is basketball site for the Knicks and it's been taken over by Maxim. The poor Knicks are taking second fiddle on their own site

Posted by BRIGGS:

I think skita is the one guy that deserves to be brought to camp with a serious shot at making the roster. I think he has played good team ball--his game looks mature---his 3 point shot is there---he blocked some shots---showed some driving abilities--he just look like a solid 10-11 spot roster guy who can come in at times to create mismatches and give us some quality diversified depth.

I think Morris Almond had a grand opportunity 4 days ago and started off very well in that first game and went down hill. I think it's going to be up to the Knicks if they want to bring him to camp--I dont know if he showed enough variety and his main guns werent good enough to justify anything other than consideration. Maybe he gets with the big club after working on some things and sees a bit more space--or maybe the Knicks need to look around at other more versatile players. Costner looked pretty diversified and had a nice 3 point stroke and a strong body. James Johnson looks like a young Paul Pierce.

Good post. I just got done watching the replay and came on here to post those very same observations. To me, other than Hill and Douglas who are obviously locks to make the team, Tskitishvili and Joe Crawford have played better than anyone else on our squad. Tskitishvili got a long run today and appeared to tire a little down the stretch but you're right, he's really shown a variety of skills on both sides of the ball that are pretty rare for a 7 footer. I'm not ready to start throwing names out like Dirk and Hedo Turkoglu as comparisons but there's no doubt that's what Denver was thinking when they took this guy so high a few years ago. He hasn't panned out so far but I'm not ready to throw in the towel on him yet. He definitely has a unusual, varied skillset and appears to be pretty sound fundementally for a guy that tall. Far from some 7' stiff out there. For the amount of playing time he got today, I'd be curious to see what would happen if he was made more of a focal point in the offense next time out. He's played pretty well so far for us but you get the feeling he could be doing even more offensively. Maybe that's been part of the problem with him - maybe he's just shown flashes but could never put anything consistent together and team's lost patience... And I agree on Almond. He really hasn't distinguished himself at all. Just looks so awkward handling the ball and trying to take it to the basket. As far as potential shooting guards go, out of the few options we've seen so far on our club, Joe Crawford has been head & shoulders more impressive than Almond. Much better handle, quickness and fluidity, a much better take to the basket and he's shown a pretty decent jumper from deep himself.

For the Bulls, outside of James Johnson, who looked good, Brandon Costner impressed me as well. That kid is skilled - looks like a hybrid 3/4 who can slash his way to the hoop along with showing the ability to knock down shots from deep and at the foul line. I see bits and pieces of a few different players in this kid's game - a little Lawrence Funderburke with some Rodney Rogers perimeter skills. Actually, he kind of resembles a poor man's Michael Beasley... With Ben Gordon gone, the Bulls really need a big off-guard or two more than anything else, but Costner's really opened some eyes here. He might very well wind up sticking. Wouldn't surprise me. Too bad Taj Gibson didn't play. I was really looking forward to seeing him play against Jordan Hill. That would've been a nice challenge for Hill. And what happen to AD Vassallo? Last I read, Chicago picked him up for their summer league, now I see he's not even on their roster. Strange. Did he get hurt? I saw this guy quite a few times during the year - he's tall for a 2 and he can shoot it. Another guy I was really looking forward to seeing. Maybe he went back to Puerto Rico.. Josh Shipp hasn't done much so far for the Bulls this summer but he still has that nice shooting form that I remember. Suprisingly Shipp had a really down year last year for UCLA but the year before, he played really well for the Bruins. Even Shipp looks like a better 2-guard prospect than Morris Almond by comparison. After seeing Almond a few games in a row now I can kinda see where Jerry Sloan and the Jazz brass were coming from a little now when they just decided to cut him loose. He's got a ton of things to work on and I just don't see him being much of a factor in the NBA right now as is.

[Edited by - finestrg on 07-19-2009 04:27 AM]

Posted by Knicksfan:

Posted by buddapaw:

Troubling observation.

TD deferred the ball handling to Acker and Almond at a very critical section of the game. He has to lead the team, that's what PG's do, very odd indeed

Don't look too much into it. Summer league.

He's still a PG, your point?

if i were coaching hill i'd focus on:

offense: square up to the basket more on his moves. work on that up and under move. use the fake more and step-through.

defense: body up on your man more. be in better position to immediately turn around and box out when a shot goes up.

i think he can be good. he passes better than i thought he would. he's got a jumphook. he can block shots.

douglas can penetrate. he needs to look to do it more. too much dribbling around outside. guy can shoot. he has a nice presence out there and goes after it on d.

morris almond can’t dribble without looking at the ball.