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[hueyp in louiev]

Admitting that he did not properly emphasize defense last season, Mike D'Antoni told the media on Tuesday that he has set a goal for the Knicks to be in the top half of the league on defense.

This is the best news I've heard all offseason.

The total lack of defense was my biggest gripe last season.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

Harlem to the Bronx loves to look at Danilo's Rooster

 

[nyelectric]

All that moving got Q in shape. Has he ever looked that good?

 

[carlos tevez]

How many wins do y'all expect this season? The East will be tougher this year thanks to most of the mediocre teams improving. Teams like Toronto, Charlotteand Washington should win more games...I think the most hopeless teams will be the Nets, Bucks and Pacers.

I'm guessing the Knicks win 34 games this year. One more year of suffering my Knicks brethren.

BTW...I cant believe bum a.ss Larry Hughes still has a job in the NBA.

 

[the gr8]

Originally Posted by The Game is a Foot

And Jeffries aint going to the doghouse... D'Antoni loves his defensive versatility, and i agree that its good for us... I see Nate clearly gettingstarters minutes off the bench... while Darko and Jeffries get very solid minutes off the bench as well in that 8 man rotation D'Antoni likes.

Meanwhile i think Hill and Douglass will start off getting little minutes but they will increase as the season goes on as what usually happens with our youngguys, but players will get hurt and they both add defense which Mike D obvi wants so i think they will get more time as the season goes on.

hughes idk, i like him getting minutes, but i could very well see him sliding into the doghouse, D'Antoni dont like playing more than 8 especially whenNate is essentially a starter himself which makes 6 dudes getting starters minutes. but I can probably see Larry getting out of the doghouse with an injury or2, especially cause he plays some D and hes in a contract year... Pluse he is a LEGIT 2 guard which we do not have in our top 8, and maybe even our whole team

 

[kingfoamnyc]

Knicks need to go back to the 99' jerseys asap... and we need a black alternate

 

[woodside718]

We were so bad on defense last year we had jeffries guarding the opposing pg every game. Yea I agree nate is going to get his minutes again and I see himplaying a little more under controlled this year lol...hughes is serviceable but he doesn't fit our plans. For the little time he played for us he playedvery good on ball d and got steals for us but other than that I cringe when he takes a jumper. I can see Al emerging to our leader this year, he is saying andtrying to do all the right things so far to fit in the team concept. He did say he is going to try to avg 5 ast a game this year so we'll see. If he playswell and understands the system better I def would keep on past 2010 for the low to solidy our bench or be that 3rd 4th tier player next to bron

.

Gallo

 

[bangdak]

although it seems likely that hughes is the oddmen out, i doubt he really becomes the odd men out because remember what happened with him in chitown once hegot no burn?
i dont think donnie/mike want to deal with that.

 

[woodside718]

Damn gallo going to work early

, and nate vs tdoug

Gallo just posterized j hill. DLee did the rooster salute.
half a minute ago from txt

Gallinari spin dribble on Ron Howard for a dunk. Bows Howard on the way.
1 minute ago from UberTwitter

Nate and Toney Douglas backcourt...relentless.
4 minutes ago from UberTwitter

 

[the gr8]

Nate and Toney Douglas backcourt...relentless.
4 minutes ago from UberTwitter

Gallo just posterized j hill. DLee did the rooster salute.
half a minute ago from txt

Gallinari spin dribble on Ron Howard for a dunk. Bows Howard on the way.
1 minute ago from UberTwitter

 

[true 3 blue]

Originally Posted by Al3xis

Admitting that he did not properly emphasize defense last season, Mike D'Antoni told the media on Tuesday that he has set a goal for the Knicks to be in the top half of the league on defense.

Last season, the Knicks were last in shot-blocking and gave up the third-most points in the league on the third-highest field goal percentage allowed.

This is what I like to hear.

Who's twitter is that from?

 

[flatbushfiyah23]

I know NT hates to click links so here is the embedded video of the piece I did with Mark Berman from Media Day:

 

[flatbushfiyah23]

Observations from media day:

Harrington is very focused on becoming a leader on the team and wants the team to be more together this year. He talked about the team spending more timetogether off the court.

Lee is very sincere about wanting to be here and I think the Knicks do factor him in their long term plans.

Nate admitted that he has to cut down on his technicals but doesnt plan to completely change who he is.

I sat and talked to Ill Will a bit one on one and he told me that he is healthy and has being playing for a few weeks now and is ready to go and was reallyexcited to have Nate and Lee back.

D'Antoni's 8 man rotation will be contingent upon what they can get out Curry. Curry acknowledges that he still needs to get into game shape but he haslost a ton of weight (40 lbs) and looks ready to go and was pretty upbeat. Either way D'Antoni wants to play 8 with Nate, Darko/Curry and Jeffries as his 3off the bench. It is unclear as to whether he will go with Chandler or Hughes at the 2 or 3. It really all depends on how Curry plays in the pre-season.

Toney Douglas has a shot to get minutes but Hill looks to be the odd man out in the rotation and may have to wait his turn unless he has an amazing pre-season.

There is a positive vibe around the team this season and all the players are stressing improvement on the defensive end and making the playoffs.

 

[pr0phecy718]

Originally Posted by FlatbushFiyah23

I was at Media Day yesterday....here is a video I produced with Marc Berman.

http://player.cinesport.com/services/player/bcpid30506492001?bclid=3944273001&bctid=42578895001

I thought it was interesting what David Lee had to say about the knicks situation with him this past summer. "no bad blood between us"...hmm ok

 

[bangdak]

^i like what i hear

GOT ME SO DAMN HYPEEDDDDD.

 

[flatbushfiyah23]

Originally Posted by pr0phecy718

Originally Posted by FlatbushFiyah23

I was at Media Day yesterday....here is a video I produced with Marc Berman.

http://player.cinesport.c...01&bctid=42578895001

I thought it was interesting what David Lee had to say about the knicks situation with him this past summer. "no bad blood between us"...hmm ok

LOL I hear you on that prophecy.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

Day 1 of training camp is finished, and I just got to watch about an hour of five-on-five scrimmaging. I did a couple interviews which I'll probably post very early tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I'll type up these notes for y'all and tell you what I saw:

Eddy Curry- You've probably already read it elsewhere, but Eddy appeared to aggravate his injured right calf while grabbing a rebound. He limped off the floor about ten minutes into scrimmages and didn't return. He said it's just a strain and he's day-to-day.

Danilo Gallinari- Gallo kept moving well in the full-court scrimmages, and continued to show off his offensive repertoire. He wasn't all that active off the ball, but after a catch he wasn't just settling for jumpers. There were a couple nice fakes and dribbles for short jumpers, a spinning lefty layup (that rimmed out), and a couple vicious dunks, including one complete facial on Jordan Hill (prompting David Lee to put his thumb to his forehead and yell "The Rooster!"). As for the jump shot, Gallo wasn't quite as automatic as he'd been in practice. He missed a few early, and angrily ripped the bandage off his right hand following one brick. It's not like he was shooting poorly, though. Anything less than perfection from the field surprises me when it comes to Gallinari. I did get a chance to see the cut on his hand up close and it ain't no scratch.

Alan Hahn mentioned to me earlier that he envisions Gallinari as more of a shooting guard than a forward, and he might very well be on to something. On defense, Gallo spent a lot of time guarding the likes of Joe Crawford, and on offense he pretty much chilled outside the arc and waited for a pass. Sounds like a two-guard to me.

More player notes after the jump...

Star-divide

Wilson Chandler- Chandler, meanwhile, seems to be fancying himself more and more a forward. He caught plenty of passes at the perimeter, but didn't just hoist up threes. Wil attacked the basket at times, swung the ball at others, and shot when he was open. That's a good sign from someone who's been accused of being a bit of a chucker.

Larry Hughes: Speaking of which, Hughes forced more than a couple threes and just couldn't connect. He was also a little lazy with his passes. But hey, go get 'em tomorrow, Larry.

Jordan Hill- Hill's game looks very much like it did in summer league (duh). He runs the floor well and generally knows what to do with the ball. It's when he goes up to shoot that problems emerge. His takeoff is slow, indirect, and sort of feeble, and he got his shot armpit-blocked more than once. The flipside of it is that he'll probably draw a lot of fouls.

Toney Douglas- Toney's shot looked much nicer than it did in Vegas. He swished a couple threes, and tried out that righty floater as well. He obviously wasn't handling the ball nearly as much as he did this summer, but looked steady and confident when doing so. Toney also stuffed a Gallinari jumper, which would be awesome if it weren't blasphemy.

Al Harrington- Al looked his best this evening. His jumpers were falling, but he didn't rely solely on that. Instead, when faced with a mismatch, he would bully his defender right down to the rim. Sun Yue, for instance, just didn't have a chance.

Sun Yue- Give Sun credit, though, for being pretty goddamn silky with the ball His form looked solid, and his handles completely defy his size. I'd guess that one of the reasons he hasn't made it quite yet (besides the aforementioned weight disadvantage) is that his English isn't great, and he keeps pretty much to himself throughout these things. At first glance, though, I'd say he's got a shot.

Joe Crawford- I'd be able to tell you more about Joe Crawford's performance if I hadn't been admiring his beard (which is now cut short) the whole time. Might have to solicit some grooming tips.

Jared Jeffries- I'm not gonna jump to conclusions, but let's just say a whole pod of seals died this evening.

David Lee- At this point, we pretty much know what to expect from Lee. He does appear to be making a more concerted effort to block shots, though. I also saw him nail 4 of 5 threes in practice.

Nate Robinson- Nate is, as you'd expect, the most animated and energetic player on the floor. He talks to everybody, including teammates, refs, and himself. That said, I didn't get many notes on Nate's play. I'll key in on him next time around.

Chris Duhon- Same deal. Threw a couple nice passes off the pick-and-roll, but I didn't get much else.

Darko Milicic- Darko set a lot of picks, but wasn't getting his touches when he rolled. It was frustrating for both of us, because we both wanna know if that jumper's gonna fall in a game setting. For his part, Darko took it in stride and didn't shred any clothing.

Lots to do. Get at me in the comments, on Twitter, via email, or by carrier pigeon if you've got questions for the players or general curiosities to share.

 

[true 3 blue]

Originally Posted by HarlemToTheBronx

Jared Jeffries- I'm not gonna jump to conclusions, but let's just say a whole pod of seals died this evening.

 

[duba169]

Originally Posted by FlatbushFiyah23

thanks for the info

I would love me some long term Lee

 

[flatbushfiyah23]

^No problem man...should be able to provide some more info throughout the preaseaon and the season. I am intrigued to see how this rotation shapes out.

 

[Mister Meaner]

David Lee- At this point, we pretty much know what to expect from Lee. He does appear to be making a more concerted effort to block shots, though. I also saw him nail 4 of 5 threes in practice.
As I've said before, Lee just continues to get better every season, and add to his game.

. Offensively, he does just fine. Ithink the jumper will be more consistent, and that quote is encouraging.

He should definitely be in the long term plans.

Also, it's nice to see a shred of defense being talked about by _'Antoni.

 

[the gr8]

There is a positive vibe around the team this season and all the players are stressing improvement on the defensive end and making the playoffs.

If Leee\ added a 3 ball to his game and we had EVERY starter able to nail the open 3...

 

[ballinsam23]

didn't i say lee will eventually develop a 3 pt shot! and ya'll were liek i'm losing my mind. riiiiiiighttttt haha

 

[c5a5d5a5]

Originally Posted by Al3xis

Gallo is a legit 6'10. he's healthy, a nightmare to match up with.

we're gonna be a lot worse than last year

 

[Mister Meaner]

how you figure we're gonna be worse than last year? As of now, these players should have much better chemistry, and everyone seems in high spirits. Thereis talent on the squad and D'Antoni knows how to use it. Dare I say it, I'm actually looking forward to this season.

son, I need a pair of those Ponys Ill Will has.