Posted by Knicksfan:

Posted by McK1:

donnie sounds a bit dissappointed hill and douglas aren't dominating hopefuls

What did he say exactly?

he said hill and douglas suck, we needed kidd, and grant hill dissed usc.

Posted by McK1:

funny they asked the asst coach about Almond he responded Skita shot well...ouch!

Yeah, I saw that too. I think Kenny Atkinson had a late night. He looked like he just got up.

Almond may be one of those guys who when the game starts is OFP - Own Fucking Program - and could be why he is a FA right now instead of finishing his first rookie contract

Posted by BasketballJones:

Who won?

Doesn't look like it was is...

Truth be told I never really watched this kid Douglas enough in college to get a read on him, but after 2 games so far this summer here's my take: The main question mark with him was can he function as a PG, mainly run a team and distribute the ball. I think he's shown he can do that which is a huge plus in the early going so far. Big question asked and answered and I think Walsh and co. can relax a little bit and breathe a sign of relief. Now his shot needs to start falling at a better clip but I think it will - there's obviously plus potential there with TD as a shooter. Defense isn't spectacular or game-altering but seems up to par as he's gotten his hands on quite a few deflections that have started breaks going the other way. The thing I see that needs some improvement is his willingness to take the ball all the way to the goal. Right now, although he maintains his dribble nicely and shows some nice overall speed to beat his man off the dribble initially, he suddenly switches gears into more of a lateral, east to west type penetrator looking to pull up for a jumper or distribute rather than looking to take it the extra step and finish it strong himself or at least get to the line. I think he has all the tools to correct that though as he moves forward. If he didn't appear to have a decent handle or decent enough speed & strength I'd be a little worried with TD as a finisher but he does so I'm not. We're looking at a guy with good overall potential as a shooter, penetrator, passer and leader. Sound decision-maker too and appears to take care of the ball and not be a careless turnover guy. He wasn't even on my radar down at 29 when he was picked and came as a surprise but I like what I see and I think he'll be able to help us.

Hill looks fine to me. He pursues rebounds with great effort and his offensive game is a lot more advanced than people realize. His offensive game needs a little refinement (he's had quite a few shots blocked in close trying to finish) and he'll need to come up with some reliable pet moves (that killer quick turnaround jumper's a nice start though) but the word 'raw' doesn't even belong in the same sentence with Jordan Hill. I agree though that he needs to get stronger. He will. He should be a better defender than David Lee but I don't think he'll be the shot-blocker that we could use. He'll be a contributor in this phase of the game (think Wilson Chandler type impact as a shot-blocker) but I'm not sure he'll ever be a difference maker in this area. Like Douglas, he's got things to work on but he's a fairly advanced talent right now that could absolutely be one of the top PFs in the game if he wants it bad enough. Speaking of Chandler, another thing with Hill is he does have a little bit of that carefree, glad-to-be-here attitude that Wilson kinda displays which I'd prefer he didn't but what are you gonna do? People are who they are and some guys are much more layed back than others. It's a minor thing but I want killers and assassins out there that want to tear your heart out and feed it to you not altar boys, but hey that's me. Still, there's a lot to like and to build on here with Hill...

Morris Almond is exactly what the scouting report says he is - tremendous shooter with time and with his feet set but offers little else I'm afraid (though he's looked a little better defensively than I expected). I can kinda see why Utah soured on him a little - he does look fairly one-dimensional. Looks very awkward and uncomfortable trying to handle the ball & take it to the rim. Really makes me wonder how he got to the line so much in the past. Kind of a waste of a 6'6" 200+ lb. build if you ask me. Still, Almond can hit the deep ball so he may stick around here and earn a spot unless they come up with a better alternative somewhere. I've been impressed with Joe Crawford a little more so far myself. Unlike Almond, he takes it really strong to the rim & finishes well. Plus, he's even been hitting from the perimeter. If you combined Almond and Crawford's strengths, you'd really be looking at a fairly complete offensive player for a off-guard from what I've seen.

As for the rest, Tskitishvili really shows a nice touch from deep and is fairly active inside. He's a longshot though. So is Ahearn, though he's a decent passer and shows a nice handle and touch (poor man's Steve Blake for somebody eventually??)... I want to see more of Korolev and hopefully David Noel next game. We need to find out more about those two..

[Edited by - finestrg on 07-15-2009 8:53 PM]

Posted by tkf:

Austin day is a string bean, but that guy is skilled and can play..

Much more polished than Hill, and I did not see him get pushed around, despite his weight.

The Knicks had him in for a workout, but I don't know who they had him competing against. I remember reading that he got pushed around in one of his workouts with another team, but when he puts on 15-20 lbs and matures a bit, he may be one of the better players to come out of this draft.

wow, this is going to be a long year.

Posted by Finestrg:


As for the rest, Tskitishvili really shows a nice touch from deep and is fairly active inside. He's a longshot though. So is Ahearn, though he's a decent passer and shows a nice handle and touch (poor man's Steve Blake for somebody eventually??)... I want to see more of Korolev and hopefully David Noel next game. We need to find out more about those two..

[Edited by - finestrg on 07-15-2009 8:53 PM]

He is willing to bang a bit, but seems to have no discernible post-up game. He might get asked to come to pre-season camp.

For some reason I like Warren Carter, although, like Tskitishvili, he has not shown us an game in the post. He seems to look like he knows where to be on the court and he actually looks like he can play a little D. Doubt that there is room for him on this team, though.

I'd like to see Noel play, also. And what about Singleton? Don't expect much from him, but I would still like a look.

Ron Howard is a guy to watch. They held him out today but in game 1 he looked like a guy who knew how to play. Carter has done nothing but chuck long jumpers (bleh) and Acker is plain garbage. Joe Crawford looks like a keeper as well