khandor’s sports blog

Mickey Dees and The Legend strike, once more …

Who Dat?

Gallinari Practices and the Knicks can barely contain themselves
The superlatives and expectations keep growing for Gallinari, the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft. He showed no signs of discomfort in Tuesday’s two practices, or any indication that he had undergone minor back surgery five months ago.

He did, however, show off his full range of skills while playing with the first unit in the evening scrimmage.

Standing on the perimeter, Gallinari beat Larry Hughes off the dribble and fed David Lee inside for a layup attempt. (Lee missed.) When Al Harrington missed a 3-pointer, Gallinari soared in for a putback dunk. And in the highlight of the night, Gallinari spun past Ron Howard and flew in for a two-handed dunk. He missed a 3-pointer, but shooting is one skill the Knicks know Gallinari has in abundance.

D’Antoni has never wavered in his enthusiasm for Gallinari and is not concerned about raising expectations. Gallinari, 21, said he was not concerned either.

“I’m happy for that, because I think that if a player wants to be at a good level, you need responsibility, you need expectations,” Gallinari said, adding: “I like that. I know how to deal with that.”

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Remember the words, “Larry Nowitzki”, and exactly where you read them first.

If Gallinari can stay healthy this season … those who think that the Knicks are simply going to be push-overs in the EC [including many of the good folks in Raptorville] will be in for a rather Rude Awakening v1.

[ ... which, almost, unbelievably, led to this, this, this and, then, finally, this and this ... when we were all a great deal younger than today.]

Related:

Best shooter I’ve ever seen

For those questioning the merit of yesterday’s poll which asked visitors to select between Andrea Bargnani and Danilo Gallinari … and the suggestion made by yours truly that the 2nd year New York Knick might just be the first coming of a hybrid ‘Larry Nowitzki’ … comes this news today, in the form of an absolutely stunning quote from a reputable source:

Knicks don’t expect too much from Curry

Coach Mike D’Antoni had a far more positive take on Danilo Gallinari, the 2008 lottery pick who finally is 100 percent healthy after a rookie season plagued by a back injury that was corrected by surgery in April. D’Antoni called Gallinari “the best shooter I’ve ever seen” and pointed out that in the 28 games he played last season, the Knicks were 14-14.

D’Antoni acknowledged that the 21-year-old needs to get stronger, but he also suggested that the multi-talented Gallinari could play a key role in the team’s achieving what most people see as an improbable result this season: a playoff berth.

“I think we can fool a lot of people,” D’Antoni said, “and I think we can overachieve.”

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High praise indeed, especially, when you consider some of the other players who the current Knicks head coach has previously had the good fortune of working with [A] in Phoenix … including Steve Nash, a former 2-time NBA MVP … and [B] with the USA’s Men’s National Team … including Kobe Bryant, a former NBA MVP, and Michael Redd, widely acknowledged as one of the best pure spot-up shooters in the NBA today.

Andrea Bargnani [C, 7-0, 250] was the No. 1 [overall] Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft and is set to begin his 4th full season in the League.

Danilo Gallinari [F, 6-10, 225] was the No. 6 [overall] Selection in the 2008 NBA Draft and, following an injury-plagued 1st season last year, is set to begin his 2nd campaign … according to published reports … in good health. 

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The view from this corner says that … if both are able to maintain relatively good health … when all is said and done, 15-20 years from today, Danilo Gallinari will be acknowledged as the superior NBA player, by a wide margin, given his diverse skill-set.

If there’s going to be a next-coming, on the NBA horizon, which combines the attributes of Larry Bird and Dirk Nowitzki, in a hybrid form, Gallinari is THAT player.

Related:

The best shooter I’ve ever seen …

The amount of R.E.S.P.E.C.T. in this corner for Henry Abbott [TrueHoop] … the Don of NBA bloggers … is immense. That said … none of us is immune from making an occasional “unforced error”.

Case in point, from today’s Wednesday Bullets:

“Reggie Miller’s legendary push-off of Michael Jordan, that led to an open game-winning 3. Disappointing: How did his teammates not rush to congratulate him after that? He celebrated more or less alone, which always makes me wonder what the internal politics are really like.”

Here’s the vid clip, itself:

and, here’s what you should be able to notice about this specific sequence of events, which provides the answer to Henry’s question … without casting aspersions, unnecessarily, towards any of the Pacers:

* When Reggie’s shot went through the basket, the horn did not go off … nor did the red lights come on. Miller’s veteran teammates knew instantaneously that there was zero possibility time on the game clock had officially expired with the Pacers winning at that point.

* In fact, the game clock was initially stopped at 0.4 seconds.

* If the Bulls had decided to inbound the ball immediately, Chicago would certainly have had more than enough time left to get off a last second heave of their own … if the Pacers were distracted by a premature celebration … in a desperate effort to tie or win the game [trailing 94-96, at the time].

* If the Bulls had, instead, decided to call a time-out … which is precisely what they did … there was no need to celebrate anything at all, just yet, as the greatest scorer in NBA history would then have had more than enough time & opportunity to thrust another dagger into the open heart of another victim in his magnificent journey towards the Hall of Fame.

* When the game officials subsequently conferred to reset the game clock to 0.7 seconds … this only served to justify the initial reaction of Reggie Miller’s teammates to his spectacular shot, i.e. “Great. Now we’ve got to be ready to defend vs. MJ & Co. This game is far from being over!”

* Rick Smits, a veteran, shoots his hands up in the air, smiles widely, retreats to defend in the full-court, and then goes to congratulate Reggie.

* Derrick McKey, a veteran, retreats to defend in the full-court, turns his head to pick up the location of the ball, and then goes to the Pacers’ bench to prepare for the ensuing time-out.

* Antonio Davis retreats to defend in the full-court, turns his head to pick up the location of the ball, and then goes to the Pacers’ bench to prepare fo the ensuing time-out.

* Travis Best, still a relatively young player, immediately collapses to the floor, under the basket, in an isolated celebration.

* Mark Jackson, the future TV analyst, is on the bench and then goes to congratulate Reggie with open arms.

* His head coach, about whom Isiah Thomas observed: ” … and you look at Larry Bird, who’s been there plenty of times before; nothing to it, I’ve done that about twenty times in my career … come back over here, fellas,” remains implacable throughout this sequence of events.

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Q1. What does this sequence of events actually reveal about the “internal politics” of that Pacers team?

A1. That what they were really all about … was being atuned to WINNING!

Nothing more, and nothing less than that.

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Even someone like Henry Abbott can benefit from taking a closer look at the details of a situation like this rather than making observations which are not necessarily accurate.

While there is much to be gained from understanding how statistical appraisals of real life players can sometimes unearth information which is not readily discernible by the naked, untrained eye so, too, is it the case that an over-reliance on number-crunching of this same sort can obscure the clear view of what a specific player brings to the court in a NBA game.

Such is the case today with the following observations made by Yahoo! Sports’ Kelly Dwyer, regarding the skill-set and functionability of Dahntay Jones, outlined in the bolded text of the following quotation:

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The Pacers hold off rebuilding for another year
The latest move has been the push to pay Dahntay Jones through his prime kicking and pushing years. It’s an awful contract, even at the cheap price of four years and $11 million, because what Jones does is so utterly replaceable.

He gets the reputation as a defensive stopper, but last year’s Nuggets were actually better defensively with him off the floor (and way better offensively). George Karl just liked the idea of starting the tough guy over the mercurial J.R. Smith, so he kept up the charade. 

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In sharp contrast to Mr. Dwyer’s perception of Mr. Jones, as a “cookie-cutter” defensive player who isn’t worth his weight in gold … or the free agent contract he is reportedly set to sign with the Indiana Pacers tomorrow … yours truly has a very different understanding of what DJ brings to the table every day that is most definitely NOT easily replaceable by any Tom, Dick or Harry culled from the NBA’s scrap-heap.

At 6-6, 210 with a well-developed physical [and somewhat dirty mean] streak in him … Mr. Jones is one of the VERY FEW players in the entire NBA with the “capacity to neutralize” an extraordinary offensive talent like Chris Paul [PG], as he did this past season in the 1st Round of the Playoffs.

You can search high and low, naming every supposed defensive stopper across the breadth of the League … i.e. including Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince, Bruce Bowen, Kobe Bryant, James Posey, Shannon Brown and Lindsay Hunter, etc. … and you will not find a single player with the combination of skills, physical attributes and attitude, that it takes to do what was done to CP3 in 4 of those 5 games.

The fact that Denver’s offensive & defensive team “productivity numbers” both went down when Mr. Jones was on the floor is not an accurate indicator of his personal level of proficiency as a high end defensive role player in the NBA who is capable of checking the opponent’s #1/PG, #2/OG and #3/SF.

When you then combine what Mr. Jones brings to the table defensively with the way in which he plays offense … i.e. as a low-volume shooter who is comfortable when playing within a highly defined role for a team that’s founded on the principles of teamwork & physical/aggressive play at both ends of the court, and in terms of rebounding … he becomes a highly valuable commodity in today’s NBA … especially for an outfit like Indiana that features a mostly finesse line-up like this:

PG - Jarrett Jack or TJ Ford 
OG - ??? or Brandon Rush [SF-?]
SF - Danny Granger or Mike Dunleavy [OG-?]
PF - Troy Murphy or Tyler Hansbrough 
C - Roy Hibbert or Jeff Foster

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Q1. Will the Pacers win the NBA Championship this coming season?

A1. No they will not.

Q2. Will they compete for the #6-8 playoff spots in the EC, after missing out the last two seasons?

A2. Without a doubt … if they decide to match the contract offer that the Raptors made to Jarret Jack this past weekend.

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Under the leadership of Larry Bird and David Morway the Pacers are attempting to climb out of a significant hole, while re-building their franchise without ever sinking to the bottom of the NBA.

If they can make the playoffs this season, it will be a major accomplishment, and provide another checkmark along the way back to respectability for this once proud team.

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PS. In fact, once the Pacers can rid themselves of the $7.0 M/yr contract they have tied up with Jamaal Tinsley they will be right back in business, as a legitimate contending team in the EC … with a player like Dahntay Jones defending for them at the OG position, beside Danny Granger & Co.

Something says that yours truly is going to have justifiable cause to repeat this same headline more than once over the course of the next 12 months.

Pacers’ Roy Hibbert leads all scorers in Thursday’s Orlando Summer League
Roy Hibbert is a big man without a free-throw problem. At least he was today when he made seven of seven attempts and scored 28 points, the most any player scored all day at Summer League. He also had nine rebounds.

Hibbert’s Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 91-88 with both Hibbert and rookie Tyler Hansbrough making free throws in the final seconds. Hibbert was a little lumbering and at the receiving end of some constructive criticism yelled from Larry Bird (like “Roy get in the post!”), but still put up solid numbers.

“I’m a passing big, I like to pass the ball and he likes to pass as well,” Hibbert said, comparing himself to Hansbrough. “He has a real good, high basketball IQ so I think we mesh well together.”

Hansbrough’s been impressive all weekend, though some days it’s harder to tell than others. Yesterday he had a double-digit first half that nobody noticed as it was happening.

Today Hansbrough had another strong showing after three big games to start summer league and scored 22 points.

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If Indiana can manage to re-sign Jarrett Jack this summer and then return a healthy Mike Dunleavy to its line-up, sometime in February [2010], the Pacers should be able to continue to build off their performance from last season.

Much like last season, the race for the #4-8 spots in the Eastern Conference Playoffs this year is shaping up as another multi-team affair.

* Tyler Hansbrough makes his summer league debut. Those who think that Larry Bird made a mistake with the No. 13 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft are going to be in for a surprise this season.

* Colangelo works fast and hard to get Turkoglu. Hedo is many things but a player who “creates” shots working off the dribble he is not. Expect THAT from him, without the benefit of a pick and you’ll be in for disappointment Raptors fans.

* What’s next? As the old adage goes: “Some of the best deals a team ever makes are the ones it doesn’t make, in the first place.” Solace for Blazers fans in the aftermath of winning losing the Hedo Turkoglu Sweepstakes.

* Buyer Beware! Things are not always as they first appear to be, when it comes to advantageous signings during the NBA’s free agency period.  

* Nick Collison says Thunder is ready for the next step. Sleep on Oklahoma City this coming season at your own peril.

Prior to last night’s proceedings, these 15 individuals were identified by this corner as players who could have given the Toronto Raptors what they need, at this moment in time, heading towards a long term future [A] with or [B] without Chris Bosh:

Perception vs Reality - Who SHOULD Raptors Draft?

Al-Farouq Aminu [6-9, 215, SF/PF, Wake Forest, now unavailable]
Tyreke Evans [6-6, 219, PG/OG, Memphis]
DeMar DeRozan [6-7, 220, OG/SF, USC]
Earl Clark [6-10, 226, PF, Louisville]
Derrick Brown [6-8, 225, SF, Xavier]
Terrence Williams [6-6, 213, OG, Louisville]
Wayne Ellington [6-5, 202, OG, UNC]
Danny Green [6-6, 208, OG/SF, UNC]
Sam Young [6-6, 223, SF, Pittsburgh]
Marcus Thorton [6-4, 194, OG, LSU]
Tyler Hansbrough [6-9, 234, PF, UNC]
Taj Gibson [6-10, 214, PF, USC]
Dante Cunningham [6-8, 227, PF/SF, Villanova]
Tyler Smith [6-6, 212, OG, Tennessee, now unavailable]
Nando De Colo [6-5, 190, OG, France]

This is what happened last night with each of those 15 players::

Al-Farouq Aminu. Withdrew from consideration; back to Wake Forest.
Tyler Smith. Withdrew from consideration; back to Tennessee.

Tyreke Evans. SACRAMENTO/No. 4, selected by Geoff Petrie.

DeMar DeRozan. Player the Raptors/No. 9 wanted all along.

Earl Clark. PHOENIX/No. 14, selected by Steve Kerr.
Derrick Brown. CHARLOTTE/No. 40, selected by M-Jordan/L-Brown.
Terrence Williams. NEW JERSEY/No. 11., selected by R-Thorn/K-Vandeweghe.
Wayne Ellington. MINNESOTA/No. 28, selected by David Kahn
Sam Young. MEMPHIS/No. 36, selected by Chris Wallace. 
Danny Green. CLEVELAND/No. 46, selected by Danny Ferry.
Marcus Thorton. MIAMI/No. 43, selected by Pat Riley [traded to New Orleans-Jeff Bower/Byron Scott].
Tyler Hansbrough. INDIANA/No. 13, selected by Larry Bird.
Taj Gibson. CHICAGO/No. 26, selected by J-Paxson/G-Forman.
Dante Cunningham. PORTLAND/No. 33, selected by Kevin Pritchard.
Nando De Colo. SAN ANTONIO/N. 53, selected by RC Buford/G-Popovich.

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1. Over the next few seasons, it is going to be most interesting to watch the development of these 15 players.

2. The Charlotte Bobcats [37-45] are gradually building a very solid team:

* Adding Gerald Henderson [OG] and Derrick Brown [SF] last night
* Trading for Boris Diaw [PF-SF], Raja Bell [OG], Vladimir Radmanovic [SF-PF] and DeSagana Diop [C} last season
* Drafting DJ Augustin [PG] & Alex Ajinca [C} last year
* Re-signing Gerald Wallace [SF-PF] last year
* Re-signing Emeka Okafor [C-PF] 2 years ago

3. There’s a very good reason the same names keep popping up when the Larry O’Brien Trophy is awarded, in June, to the NBA Champions.

Update:

* Marcus Thorton has subsequently been traded to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for two future 2nd Round Draft Picks [i.e. 2010 & 2012].
  

Pacers’ Ford handling his demotion like a pro
T.J. Ford has been in this position before. He knows from his experience with the Toronto Raptors that complaining won’t get him far.

That’s why the Indiana Pacers point guard is taking the high road after his recent demotion. Pacers coach Jim O’Brien replaced Ford with Jarrett Jack at point guard against Charlotte on Saturday. Ford is taking it in stride, and handling the situation with professionalism.

“I know how to handle this situation better than I did in the past,” said Ford, who was involved in a point guard controversy with the Raptors last season. “It’s not a big issue to me. Just do what you’re supposed to do, whether they put you in the game or not. It’s your job to be ready and be prepared for whatever happens.

“I’m not a person that asks questions or reasons why certain things happen. He’s the coach and he has the right to make whatever adjustments he wants.”

O’Brien plans to keep Jack in the starting lineup for the time being. If Saturday was any indication, Jack is doing his best to put a stranglehold on the position.

Jack had 31 points on 13-of-14 shooting to go with six rebounds, two assists and just one turnover in 32 minutes.

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If TJ Ford is willing to accept that his proper role for a High End Team in the NBA is that of a Change-of-pace Back-up PG … it says here that he will flourish during the rest of his career.

TJ Ford has always had the talent to succeed in a major way, within this specific role. However, if he now has the Right Attitude to go with it, the Pacers will have set themselves up nicely to take a significant step up the Eastern Conference standings next season, by making this shift, as the combination of [Jarrett] Jack and Ford [in that order] could well be the best in the league.

Overall … yet another positive step in the gradual rebuilding process that Larry Bird is implementing with the Pacers.