Knicks want Gallinari to get more aggressive
Originally published: October 12, 2010 7:23 PMUpdated: October 12, 2010 7:40 PM By ALAN HAHN alan.hahn@newsday.com

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Danilo Gallinari said what he admires most about Celtics All-...Star Paul Pierce's game is that he doesn't go full speed the entire time, but instead picks his spots where he suddenly, and effectively, strikes. Gallinari has the same tendencies in his game: He can go several plays without being seemingly involved and then quickly turn it on.

But while the 22-year-old still has some growing to do into the role of a primary scorer and offensive focal point, the Knicks want to see him engage more and not allow the game to go away from him.

"I think he needs to be more aggressive on his catching and shooting, catching and ripping, passing the ball, going to the basket, yeah," Mike D'Antoni said after yesterday's practice at MSG Training Center. "And we talked about that. For him to go to the next level, it's not changing his game. It's changing your focus and not wait for the game to get close and now I'm going to really turn it on. When you play 25 to 30 minutes, it has to be the hardest 30 minutes you've played in your life. That will get him up one more level."

Gallinari, however, is quick to debate this issue, saying his aggressiveness "is definitely better than the beginning of last year" and added that in D'Antoni's option-loaded system "you can have a different protagonist every game."

But the most successful NBA teams are generally anchored by one or two main guys who carry the offense. Pierce and Ray Allen do it for Boston. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol do it for the Lakers. The Knicks have Amar'e Stoudemire, but the reason they remain very interested in Carmelo Anthony is because he brings that go-to scorer's mentality every night. Gallinari, however, doesn't believe that will work here.

"We are trying to build a chemistry together and being aggressive does not mean you have to go and take whatever your man gives you," he said. "You have to also respect your teammates . . . We have some plays that we want to go to certain players and we want to do certain things. Your defender gives you something, gives you a back door, but you don't do it because you want to stay in the play."

D'Antoni still raves about Gallinari's potential, yet wants to see him become a more effective post-up scorer. That will come in time, but right now the emphasis is for Gallinari to focus more on attacking the offensive glass.

Gallinari is the Knicks' prized possession and a player they'd rather not have to give up in a trade for Anthony, who remains with the Nuggets but is likely to be moved before the February trade deadline. Anthony Randolph, another young talent on the Knicks, has yet to find himself in this system and presently appears to be a bench player, which could diminish his trade value. Randolph has put up decent numbers in the first two preseason games, averaging 15 points in 20.5 minutes per game, but his role remains undefined.

Notes & quotes: D'Antoni made it official that Russian rookie Timofey Mozgov will start at center Wednesday night against the Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Mozgov, however, may not face Shaquille O'Neal, who did not play last night against the 76ers because of a hip issue. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, the Knicks had serious internal discussions about making a contract offer to O'Neal early in the free-agency process . . . Eddy Curry (hamstring) and Kelenna Azubuike (knee) worked out on a side court during practice and did some light shooting.

I think Gallo needs to be our anchor this year, right after Amare. We need Amare scoring 22ppg and Gallo scoring right behind him around 18ppg if we are going to be competitive on a nightly basis. We need an aggressive Gallo.

Finestrg wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

martin wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:I would say MDA said he wants Gallo to be more complete and aggressive

Agreed. Read it in this morning's Newsday and that's exactly how I interpreted it. He was talking about what Gallo needs to do in order to take the next step this year.

I know some of you aren't gonna want to hear this because he's our very own home-grown product and a very nice young man (and don't get me wrong at all -- he is talented, there's room for growth here and I do like him) but I honestly believe he is what he is at this stage -- a glorified outside shooter. He talked about working out in Milan this summer on his explosiveness and perfecting his post up game but in the 1st two pre-season games I haven't really seen it, only tiny glimpses..The bulk of his offensive attack remains the same---he's way too reliant on the 3 ball..He's an exceptional shooter from distance so I never wanna see him pass up open looks but I still see the same player -- not much has changed.

why are you coming to a conclusion after 2 preseason games?

You're kidding me, right? Try a whole season last year + these two preseason games. Show us what you've been working on young man. Show me tonight at home against a superior opponent. I need to see more. MDA does too apparently, hence his comments in the papers.

I agree with you. The preseason is the experimental season too, so if you're not going to work on your all around game NOW then when are you going to? Gallo has to assert himself more. There were many times the past couple of games that he could have driven but he didn't. This has to be fixed.

Exactly.

fair enough. I am going to wait until after this year to get a better handle on what Gallo could be, especially seeing how last year was (or all practical purposes) his first full season in the league (and coming off of no summer work with injury).

Ah, preseason games, where careers are made.

iSergio wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:Rookie, both of your posts are off. First off, if you are thinking Gallinari should have the handle of Chris Paul or Steve Nash or Tim Hardaway, then yes, he's a terrible ball handler. However, for a big man, he's pretty good and he can get by people. His jerkiness actually throws people defenders off and he manages to keep his control. He sometimes just has to pick his spots better which will give him more confidence.

Secondly, your using a highlite mix to prove your point when the fact is you can't do that. However, I will agree that he DOES shoot to much and needs to do more. He HAS to trust his own game and not always fall back on his shooting, or else, like I said previously, I'll jump on the trade him for Melo bandwagon.

As a PF, maybe. As a SF, hell no. Danilo Gallinari doesn't have the handle of an elite wing scorer. That 'Shamgod' move doesn't work in the NBA. You never see Gallo crossing over someone and getting to the basket. All of his drives are with his head down straight to the hoop after catching the ball in motion.

^ This. Also, and maybe it's just cause we've seen Gallo play so much, but he pretty much telegraphs when he's about to drive to the basket instead of shoot. He tends to hold onto the ball and put his head down, which always reminds me of Harrington. I was never really impressed by Gallo's handle.

The thing with Gallo is he doesn't even need to improve his slashing or post play for the next level. Just get a damn midrange game and you can mimic Dirk. Having a 3-pt shot and a midrange jumper means pump-faking and taking a step inside the arc becomes a lot more dangerous to defend. Then as a triple threat, he can mix it up with his goofy dribble and take it to the rack and get a foul. Instead, all he does it launch 3's, and it's seriously disappointing.

Mike wants Gallo to be our #2 scoring threat and being more versatile and aggressive is how he's gonna get there. As for Gallo's handle let's try to remember he's nearly 7' tall and very few guys his size can handle the ball like him at that size. He doesn't have to be Lebron to be effective.

If gallo was a 3rd option no one would really care that he's a only a 3 point shooter, but when you start saying he's a potential all star, he needs to come out the gate rolling, not taking baby steps..I'm reading previews where people are saying we almost have to over achieve in order to make the playoffs, and this wasn't coming from the post or ESPN.

martin wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

martin wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:I would say MDA said he wants Gallo to be more complete and aggressive

Agreed. Read it in this morning's Newsday and that's exactly how I interpreted it. He was talking about what Gallo needs to do in order to take the next step this year.

I know some of you aren't gonna want to hear this because he's our very own home-grown product and a very nice young man (and don't get me wrong at all -- he is talented, there's room for growth here and I do like him) but I honestly believe he is what he is at this stage -- a glorified outside shooter. He talked about working out in Milan this summer on his explosiveness and perfecting his post up game but in the 1st two pre-season games I haven't really seen it, only tiny glimpses..The bulk of his offensive attack remains the same---he's way too reliant on the 3 ball..He's an exceptional shooter from distance so I never wanna see him pass up open looks but I still see the same player -- not much has changed.

why are you coming to a conclusion after 2 preseason games?

You're kidding me, right? Try a whole season last year + these two preseason games. Show us what you've been working on young man. Show me tonight at home against a superior opponent. I need to see more. MDA does too apparently, hence his comments in the papers.

I agree with you. The preseason is the experimental season too, so if you're not going to work on your all around game NOW then when are you going to? Gallo has to assert himself more. There were many times the past couple of games that he could have driven but he didn't. This has to be fixed.

Exactly.

fair enough. I am going to wait until after this year to get a better handle on what Gallo could be, especially seeing how last year was (or all practical purposes) his first full season in the league (and coming off of no summer work with injury).

Ah, preseason games, where careers are made.

I know what he CAN be. He can be a star. He already makes the commitment on defense, which is why I'm a fan of him in the first place. However, all of last season, he would have opportunities to drive or cut to the basket and he either didn't or just shot a 3, and this has continued happening this pre season. Also, he can say he wants to be a good teammate and make the right play for his teammates, ect.., but that's irrelevant if he has a chance to get an easier bucket and he puts up a tougher 3 instead.

It's something he absolutely positively has to work on if he wants to be a star, a main cog in our future and not traded for Carmello Anthony.

He wants him to be more assertive . Simple!!..... And he is talking strictly about his scoring and
passing!! ..... Be more responsive
More alert!!

Nothing else.......

Gallo is obviously talented and smart

Coach wants him to put it together more this year!!

Bravo I say..... Huge step up from last year when coach called him best shooter ever!! From practice alone
mind you!

Gallo from comments had huge weight on his shoulders to prove his coach right...... This year instead
of praise give him something to work towards!!.... I say smart approach

Already sold on Gallo and cant wait for haters to eat some words as year progresses!!

nixluva wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:Its a problem when the 12-70 NETS (without favors) was believe to be a better destination for FA or teams looking to trade...not only that, Favors value is higher then gallo,AR and chandler....

If gallo was a 3rd option no one would really care that he's a only a 3 point shooter, but when you start saying he's a potential all star, he needs to come out the gate rolling, not taking baby steps..I'm reading previews where people are saying we almost have to over achieve in order to make the playoffs, and this wasn't coming from the post or ESPN.

WE landed STAT not NJ! WE made the deal with GS not NJ! WE signed Timo right out from under their Russian owner's nose! What did NJ accomplish this off season that compares to what we did?

After only 2 exhibition games in Europe there's no way to know just how good we are or not. At least there's a good level of talent to work with and some players with potential to develop and see if we have anymore stars already. I'm sensing PANIC from the Knick fanbase.

nixluva wrote:

knickstorrents wrote:Agree with the above posters... he needs more variation in his game to keep defenders honest. He needs to force himself to make his shots 50% 3 pointers, 25% mid range jumpers, 25% drives, or some variation there of. From what I've seen he shoots 85% 3s and the rest are drives. It'd be interesting to see what his actual shot selection history was for last year, because I'm just guessing based on what I saw from him last year.

Yeah I think everyone believes he need more variety in his game, but some feel he's a one trick pony. Some IMO are being too impatient. He played one full season and it wasn't even a season where he was at 100% physically. Most fans who have draft picks are more patient than we see many Knick fans being with regard to Gallo. It's not like he was a scrub last year. He showed plenty. Now we have to allow him time to be coached and developed fully. His mind is set a certain way right now and he has to make some adjustments to his thinking. That may not be an instantaneous process. People want it to come right away, but they need to at least allow some games to be played so a trend can be established. you can't tell what kind of year a players gonna have after the 1st 2 preseason games.

Exactly..... Like anything in life repetition is the only way to master an art....

Gallinari has been in NBA 96 games ...... Barely more then a season.

If he sucked no one would be talking high bout him nor hating on him...... It's obvious he is a talented
young athletic 7 footer who can shoot the lights out!!..... Has been playing good D since pretty much day
one in the league .... Now does that mean he is a finished product?.... No of course he needs time to season
and grow as a NBA player..... Dirk took time to blossom... Kuchoch needed time.... Vlade.... Bargani sucked
his first few years so did Jermaine O'Neal ( only non-european i mentioned but plenty more) Gallo needs to
get better no doubt about it but I for one am Excited and thrilled to have him on my team.

Would I like to see more from Gallo?.... Most Def but that being said he is still the Best prospect we have
drafted since Mark Jackson and that's a quite a long time.