i wish the city of ny could have a contract with nike like 1,000,000 new yorkers pre order a pair of his next sneakers on the condition that bron comes
Knicks: One-On-One with Gallo
Quote:
With GM Donnie Walsh set to
cleanhouse this summer, there hasn't been much for Knicks fans to latch ontothis season. Nowadays, there are very few certainties when it comes tothe Knickerbockers future. With a roster that features eight playerswith expiring contracts, very little is set in stone for this storiedfranchise. However, one of the rare players whom New Yorkers can feelcomfortable getting attached to is sharpshooting sophomore DaniloGallinari. NYC is hoping that Gallo will become an integral part of thegroup that turns the franchise's fortunes around. And with hisconsistently solid play (coupled with his improved durability), Knicksmanagement and the team's coaching staff believe they have found animportant building block for the team's future foundation.
Walsh and the Knicks have always been high on Gallinari, selecting him with the sixth overall pick in the 2008
NBA
draft (the Knicks highest pick since taking Kenny Walker back in 1986).For a team that has had very few lottery picks due to the excessivetrading habits of prior GM Isiah Thomas, Walsh and company needed tonail that 2008 pick. Initially, there were some significant concerns,as Gallo injured his back in the Vegas Summer League a month before thestart of his rookie season. There were certainly signs of promise inthe games that Gallo did suit up for. He played in 28 contests in2008-2009, and averaged a scant 15 minutes per game, but he did showsome positive signs. In particular, his efficiency was noteworthy. Heshot 44.8% from the field, and impressively canned 44.4% of histhree-point attempts and 96.3% of his free-throws. The Knicks went14-14 in games Gallo played (8-7 when played at least 15 minutes) lastseason. He was also the team's leader in plus/minus rating. However,the back injury proved too painful and Danilo eventually underwentsurgery to correct the problem in April.
Thus, the Knicks wereecstatic to see Gallo come to camp healthy last October. Once again,the excitement level surrounding Gallinari and his potential was rampedup. During preseason play, Head Coach
Mike 'Antonihad this to say: "What we've seen of him and what we know of him as aperson, a leader and all that, we think he can be a top-level player inthis league. He's definitely one of the best shooters in the league,without a doubt. He's 6-10, knows how to play and is a better defenderthan what most people think." D'Antoni would later go to call Gallanari"the best shooter I have ever seen," which generated headline acrossNew York.
Obviously there high expectations coming into thisseason for Gallinari; it became almost imperative that he fulfill someof that promise and show he could be a legitimate contributor. With theKnicks future build around potentiallyattracting free agents in the'Summer of 2010,' the organization had very few selling points orpromising players on their roster. Walsh needed Gallo to show he couldcontribute in a significant way.
Right off the bat, Gallinarihelped assuage concerns. He established a new career-high point totalwith 22 points on opening night at Miami and then shattered that markthree days later with his first career 30-point performance (30 points,9-22 FG, 8-16 3P) in 141-127 loss versus Philadelphia on Oct. 31.
Fromthere, Gallo continued to fire away and, much to the delight of NewYorkers, found the bottom of the net more often than not. Amongqualified second year players, Gallo ranks first in three pointers madewith 154, fifth in 3P% with a mark of .386, seventh in blocks with0.75, seventh in scoring with 14 points and ninth in rebounding with4.9 boards. In addition, as impressive he has been on the offensiveend; Gallinari has also shown surprising grit and toughness on defenseas well.
But, of the all the aforementioned statistics, the most important number from
Danilo Gallinari's2009-2010 season may be the numeral 1. That 'number one' reflects theamount of games Danilo has missed this season. The only contest Gallhas missed all year was back in early December, and that was due to astrained forearm. The fact that Gallo's back has held up all season isincredibly encouraging to both Gallinari and the Knicks.
HOOPSWORLDcaught up with Gallo on Friday night in the New York locker room beforethe Knicks matchup with the Philadelphia Sixers. When asked about histhoughts, reflecting back on his first full season in New York, Gallowas quick to note how important it was for him to show he can handlethe rigors and daily grind of the NBA schedule.
"I'm pretty happy because I completed the season being fully healthy. My
body couldn't do it last year, so looking back that is the first thing I can think about and be happy about this year," said Gallo.
Healso described how much important it was for him psychologically toprove to himself and his teammates that he was durable enough to stayon the floor.
"It was important; it was very important… It wasmy first real big injury so I never really had a doubt before that Iwould be able to play all these games. But mentally it is just soimportant because once you get that confidence mentally also; it makesit that much better."
When you mention Gallinari's name to the causal NBA fan, they typically think of his proficiency from
behind the arc.And, yes, Gallo is proving in fact that he is one of the league's elitemarksmen. He currently ranks second in NBA (only Houston's Aaron Brookshas more homerun balls) with 157 three pointers this. He hit at leastsix treys four different times; and three treys 30 times.
However,Gallo shies away from the 'league leader talk,' as he doesn't like toget caught up in personal statistics. He is more concerned with theteam's bottom line – their win/loss total. "I don't really payattention to all those stats and stuff to be honest with you. I justwant to win, so if my three's can help the team win, then that is fine.So I do hope that I can hit three's because that can help the teamwin," said Gallo.
Additionally, Danilo has resisted the ideaof being labeled as a one-trick pony. One of the more encouragingaspects of Gallo's season has been the diversification of his offensiverepertoire. Due to his bourgeoning reputation as a lethal long-rangegunner, opponents began overplaying his jumper, so Gallo has respondedwith an increased willingness to attack the tin. The numbers clearlyportray this: Over the first three months on the season, Gallinari wasaveraging over 6.5 three-pointers per game, while getting to the linejust three times a night. However, in the Knicks 19 post-All-Star breakcontests, Gallo is taking just four trey's a game, while also averagingnearly four free-throws per contest. Further illustration can be foundin his point-breakdown comparison. Through December 1st, Gallo wasgenerating 65% of his points from behind the arc, versus just 10% fromthe stripe and 25% on two-point buckets. Conversely, in the gamesplayed since the start of December, just 43% of his points have comefrom three-point land, while 35% of his points have come fromtwo-pointers and 22% from freebies.
Still, in his conversation with HOOPSWORLD, Gallo reiterated his concentration remained on helping the Knicks win
basketball gamesand not to boost his scoring average. Gallinari detailed thedifficulties of dealing with the all the losses he has had to enduresince leaving Italy and landing in New York, but also expressed abelief that these defeats could be used as a difficult, but beneficial,learning lesson. "It is not easy for sure, but I think you can learnfrom this situation. You know, you can learn from losing games. So, itis a process but I just hope I can learn from this situation."
OnFriday night at Madison Square Garden, Gallinari led the Knicks to arare victory, scoring a game-high 25 points. It was the 10th time thisseason he had led the team in scoring and his 13th 20-point effort. Healso grabbed seven rebounds and, right on cue, he did much of hisdamage from the free-throw line as a result of relentlessly taking theball to the basket. Gallinari went to the line a career-best 14 timesand converted a career-high 11 free throws.
In his postgamepress conference, Head Coach Mike D'Antoni gushed over Gallo's improvedplay and discussed the encouraging signs he has seen in Gallinari'soverall game. "(Gallinari) can do a lot of things. I have noticed thatathletically he's better now. Maybe he did hit a bit of a valley comingback, but before the game he did a windmill dunk, and I have never seenstuff like that before. So you can see that his body is getting better.And usually if you have an injury that you have an operation,especially a back injury, or knee injury, it takes about a year ofplaying to get over that, to feel comfortable and not worry about it,to not think about it all day." D'Antoni continued: "He's just nowcoming out of that period where he feels comfortable with his body. Hedid a lot of good things tonight. He's got to keep doing it. He got tothe line 14 times. It's a good learning experience."
Gallostrong performance, coupled with Toney Douglas' (another young Knickthat will be back next season) fourth quarter explosion - whichincluded Douglas scoring 13 straight point during the final fiveminutes of the fourth - gave the Knicks coach and fans something todiscuss other than ever-present 2010 rumors. Gallo acknowledged thatthe speculation and media focus on the future is undeniable, but statedhe doesn't let that affect his game. "To be honest, I don't really readthe papers. I know that everybody is paying attention to next yearbecause it is going to be an important summer. But, personally I don'treally pay attention, because I am concentrating on tonight's game andthe next game. And every game is a different story, so I amconcentrating on this season."
Overall, Gallo reiterated thefact that he is happy to be in New York, all things considered. And heplans on remaining a Knickerbocker for a long time. "It has been greathere. Obviously New York is a great city so I would really like to stayhere many, many years. I hope to stay here for my entire career."
Music to any Knicks fans ears…
(Hoopsworld)
