Comments on: Knicks 111, Nets 100

By: Ben R

Ben R — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:26:27 +0000

Nick – I only throw the age thing out there because he should improve, most young players do, what they don’t do usually is change. We were wanting Crawford and Curry to improve in ways that would change them as a player. Gallo is what he is, a great outside shooter, who can get to the line, rarely turns the ball over and is average at everything else. I can hope/believe he will improve but if he does improve he will just be a better version of himself. I by no means expect him to transform into a great finisher at the rim that is pulling down 8 rebounds a game and swatting shots left and right.

Some people were hoping Curry would all of a sudden be a rebounder or a low turnover player, those things might have improved but even in the best case they were always going to be huge weaknesses. Gallo has no glaring deficiencies in his game so we don’t need him to hugely improve anywhere, just maybe get incrementally better.

Even if he is never more than the player he is now, a 60% TS% medium usage SF he is still a very good player and a starter in this league. I still believe he will one day go to an all-star game or two and be o0ne of those fringe all-star players, I don’t expect much more but thats still quite good.

By: Nick C.

Nick C. — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:41:31 +0000

Oh I know sometimes you have to go low to try to make your point, which is I don’t like age excuse/explanation. No doubt I am happy that we are moving far far away from the Zeke mentality. Zeke wouldbe looking into Baron Davis or Arenas right about now and Fields would be getting no time at all.

By: ess-dog

ess-dog — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:37:22 +0000

Nick C.,
Curry/Crawford comparisons just ain’t cool. Crawford was never good (until last year) and came to the Knicks at age 24. Curry’s best year was his last one with the Bulls. It was a slightly above average year at age 22 in terms of scoring. But he was pretty lame in every other respect and Gallo is already a much better player at the same age.
It’s the Zeke viewpoint vs. the Walsh viewpoint. The high usage scorer vs. the good all around player.
At the end of this year, if Gallo hasn’t improved in most categories (barring injury), then I will start to become concerned that he may only be a good role player and not an all-star.

By: Nick C.

Nick C. — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:56:19 +0000

I’m not comparign Gallo to Chandler but to the league average. I understand he gets to the line more but please I had to read enough of that “he’s only XYZ age” regarding Curry and Crawford back when they were there and that was the first line of defense thrown out by their defenders, so I don’t buy it this isn’t baseball. Yes he can and should improve (ie: David Lee) but maybe I just had higher hopes and should have adjusted my sights accordingly to begin with.

By: Ben R

Ben R — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:30:15 +0000

Nick C – Gallo is 22, what do you expect him to be. He is not a centerpiece. He doesn’t need to be we have one already in Amare. He is a perfect sidekick to a centerpeice. I would trade Gallo in a second if it got a better player on a similar contract at a similar age. I have never thought of him as untouchable. No player is ever untradable in my opinion, unless they are the best player in the league.

Right now no on this team is a pure number two option, instead we have three players, Gallo, Felton and Chandler who all step up on any given night and fill that role. It works well.

I fully expect Gallo’s game to keep improving and filling out. So far this year he has added getting to the free throw line and has hit them at a much better rate than previous years, he is also running the break better. His shot has been off yet he is still putting up an almost 60% TS%, that is amazing.

So far this year Chandler has been playing very well, I love what he has been doing, why can’t we be happy we have two players who have expanded and improved their games rather than tear them apart comparing them.

By: ess-dog

ess-dog — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:25:57 +0000

jaylamerique: Chandler has guarded 2,3, and 4s this year.

Lots of people have guarded lots of people - there is a lot of switching when using man defense in the NBA. You can say that Ray has guarded 1s, 2s and 3s this year. I'm saying that Chandler does his best defensive work against 3s and smaller 4s. He got lit up by Ray Allen last year as well as other 2s and he's had some trouble with 4s this year. He has really improved his timing on blocks though which I like a lot.

jaylamerique: i think he’ll probably spend some time on CP3 in tomorrows game.

Doubtful.

jaylamerique: Also you cant criticize chandlers efg when its higher then gallo’s.

Sure you can. Most of the shots Gallo takes are from an area where if you hit 40%, you are one of the best in the league. He's taken 52% of his shots from three. Chandler takes (or should take) most of his shots in the paint where if you hit 60%, you are one of the best in the league. Only 32% of Chandler's shots have been from three. See what I'm sayin? Gallo's FT shooting helps too.

jaylamerique: Gallo needs to be criticized more.

I'm not sure why. I think we all have a pretty good read on him. He's a 22 year old 3rd or 4th option on an above average team and he's still learning the game. He's a good shooter and is about average at everything else. Hopefully he'll improve like all our young players. If you really want to criticize him, take him to task for not shooting as well as he's capable of shooting.

By: Nick C.

Nick C. — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:58:37 +0000

Ben … in a way you made the case for why people are down on Gallo. “Overall he is a very valuable 3-4 option” Is that really what you would want for someone who was talked about as a centerpiece or untradeable and who is not much more than average at anything else?

By: Ben R

Ben R — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:02:23 +0000

I think people are expecting too much from Gallo at this point. So far this year he has been a very very efficient offensive player (especially when you consider his very low turnovers) while actually stuggling from 3 for multiple game stretches at a time. The fact he is shooting a career low from 3pt% and is still at almost 60% TS% is a huge step forward for him. Imagine how efficient he will be once his 3pt shot gets completely back on track.

I think the criticisms of his rebounding, defense and playmaking are all overstated. He is about average at all three, sure it would be nice if he was also great at those things but lets be happy with what we have. The only real problem I have with his game at this point is how he vanishes, but he is 22 and almost 17 points per 36 while being the third and sometimes fourth option is not bad. I would love for his usage to increase, but not at the expense of efficiency, plus I would love for his rebounding, defense and playmaking to improve, the usage, defense and playmaking should get better, the rebounding probably not. He is very young, barely (two months) older than Fields.

Overall he is a very valuable 3-4 option and is still improving. As for the free throw thing I do not understand why people think players shoot less free throws in the playoffs. They do not. He is not simply flopping, he has a very good headfake and his awkward drives are hard for the defense to predict, so I think as long as he stays aggressive, getting to the free throw line should continue to be a strength.

By: jaylamerique

jaylamerique — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:05:01 +0000

ess-dog: I’m not sure he’s a better defender and I’m not even sure more versatile.Yes he blocks more shots, but Gallo’s a pretty stout defender – he also guarded 1?s and 2?s last year attimes. We are mostly being killed by pf’s this year and that’s on Stoudemire and/or Chandler.I think Chandler is ideal guarding the 3 and is mismatched at times at the 4 (but of course, it’s often a mismatch on the other end as well.) I think people here, including yours truly have given Chandler his due after he started laying off the three-ball, but his eFG is pretty much the same as last year.Thanks to more free throws, his TS is pretty close to 55 – a Josh Smith like # that we can all live with. I agree that he’s an ideal 6th man that plays both ways above average, but Gallo is a year younger and has a lot going for him as well.

wow, you honestly dont think chandler is the better defender or more versatile?. i dont remember the last 1 gallo guard that he wasn't switched on to in a p-n-r.. Chandler has guarded 2,3, and 4s this year. i think he'll probably spend some time on CP3 in tomorrows game. Also you cant criticize chandlers efg when its higher then gallo's. the only gallos ts is so higher is because he's been getting to line at a high rate. Gallo needs to be criticized more. there is no reason why his usage should have gone down this year. He needs to be more assertive when he is out there.

By: nicos

nicos — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:01:56 +0000

Gallo is a decent man defender- not quite as good as Chandler IMO but not that much worse (though for the record, he had to be switched off Beasley in the Minnesota game as well as Prince). However, he is a poor help defender and a very poor defender in transition (though he’s been a bit better there in recent games) so I’m not sure I’d say his defense is underrated. As for his offense- yes he’s good now and should get better but I do wonder if if he’d have anywhere near the same efficiency if he was the first option on offense rather than the third as he is now. Do you really think his TS% would be 60 if teams gave him the same defensive attention as they give Amar’e? Right now he’s a pretty average SF- very efficient scoring but slightly below average rebounding, slightly below average defense, and way below average playmaking. I do think he has the talent the potential to be a legitimate all-star but he’s still got a ways to go.