I watched the draft last night while chatting with Kungfucius. I gotta say that the “Must Improve: ___” feature is the easiest setup for jokes ever. The JVG-SVG moment was also magical.
Anyway, there were some interesting moves, but I think I called a lot of the picks. I am not so sure about Danilo Gallinari, but only because foreign players are often not as carefully scouted. From what I hear, I think he could be good and he has played against tough (tougher than the NCAA) competition. It’s nice that he won’t need a translator (as D’Antoni speaks fluent Italian), and NY has a need at SF. NY is so bad on defense anyway, so Gallinari won’t look that bad in comparison, and I think D’Antoni’s system might cover up some of Gallinari’s weaknesses. It’s not so much that I have talked myself into loving this pick as that I realize that the other options were just not as good. NY does not need another scoring tweener guard…
Personally, I think Marbury will be good for at least 15 points 5 assists this year if he can stay healthy. In D’Antoni’s system and entering a contract year (after the previous disastrous year), Marbury’s got a lot of incentive to try his best and do as he’s told. Several decent PG are available on the market, and I think NY did the right thing in not drafting a questionable PG with the 6th pick.
NY is not going to be any good for a few years. I’d be happy with a hard-working and exciting team, and I like the way Walsh is handling everything so far. Also, I think the locals will end up loving Gallinari if he plays hard.
Back to back MMA this weekend! I was excited that CBS was showing some MMA, even though I wasn’t really expecting much. Then there was a WEC card on Sunday. Good stuff! Both cards had their moments, and I am ok with silly circus acts if they increase fan awareness.
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So the NYK hired Mike D’Antoni away from the Suns. At first I was a little down on this move, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. Jackson should not have been in consideration; I don’t know why the media thinks up these scenarios. Thomas was a great PG too, and he was still a terrible coach and GM. Why would someone who has never even been an assistant coach be a good coach? Thank goodness Walsh did not go that route. There was a fantastic moment last week when they mentioned the D’Antoni hire during a game that Jackson was calling (while sitting next to Van Gundy). I actually felt kinda bad for Jackson. However, I still have not forgiven him for those years with the Pacers…
Anyway, the main criticisms of D’Antoni are that his teams don’t play defense and that his style does not work in the playoffs. The first point is sorta-true and the second point is false. The Suns actually have a pretty decent record in the playoffs relative to everyone else. Also, when your two best players can’t play defense, well then they can’t play defense. It’s not like D’Antoni was going to pull Steve and Amare to put in a stopper…
For NY, I like this coaching change for a few reasons. First, D’Antoni took a terrible Phoenix squad and turned it into a winner. NY is terrible and the roster does not fit D’Antoni’s style in Phoenix. However, the problem is that NY’s roster is so bad it doesn’t fit anyone’s style, unless your style is “losing.” So I guess it fit Thomas’ style, which is appropriate since Thomas acquired everyone on the team… No one really believes this is the rost of NY’s future, so why focusing on the roster is short-sighted.
Secondly, I am not as down on Marbury as everyone else. He might be able to produce some gaudy numbers in a fast-paced offense. Maybe Walsh could use this to sign-and-trade Marbury to someone else. That would be fantastic. The same may happen to some of the other scrubs on the team. Run-and-gun makes everyone look better on paper.
I like that Walsh seems to have a real long-term plan for NY. The worst part about Thomas was that he had no vision. He added parts like he was assembling an FNBA roster. Now, NY has a definite focus and can start assembling an effective and efficient team. In the meantime, D’Antoni should have NY being more entertaining at the very least. This first year is probably going to be brutal, but at least that means more high draft picks.
Well… 23-59 but it can’t get any worse. I speak of the Knickerbotchers, but hopefully IT will be out. I like what I have seen so far from Donnie Walsh, but I know that things will still be bad before they start getting better. NYK should have a good pick this draft, but I don’t know if it will be a great pick. Still, I wouldn’t trade it unless it is as an incentive to get a bad contract off the books. If I was in charge, I’d be willing to trade almost all of the players as long as a shorter contract is sent back in return (henceforth denoted as “DfaBC” for “Dumped for a Better Contract”). I would try to draft a point guard, so that NY can just let Marbury finish his last year and then not re-sign him.
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Sports | Kabitzin 6/27/2008 | 
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