This is not a good team. No one expects them to win 50 games, or even 40. I really believe that there is a good case for why 7SOL is not the right fit for this team, and apparently even D’Antoni has admitted that and changed his strategy. I am not saying slow the pace to a crawl. Guys like Phil Jackson and Rick Adelman manage to run well disciplined, structured offenses and still play at a fast pace (WIth Adelman I’m referring more to Sacto, but the Rockets are 9th in pace… George Karl has been another example at times, but at other times his offenses have gotten pretty chaotic). The Knicks are not as talented as most opponents, so they have to out-fox them (not a problem Jackson has had much, but something Adelman is dealing with in Houston). They are also not as smart as most opponents, so they need a structured offense where their coach has basically out-foxed the other team for them. Even though they’re the Knicks, when they start moving the ball and themselves (and playing good D) they often go on a run. When they settle the first available long 3 they generally fall flat; although, once in a while Harrington or Robinson or Danilo makes 4 3s in a row and gets them in the game.

I don’t argue that Robinson, certainly, or even Douglas will turn into a playmaking PG in the Magic, Kidd, Nash, etc. mold. My argument is that they’re playing better than Duhon (and probably just plain ARE better), so you redesign the offense around the talent at hand. With Nate and Toney (or one of them and Hughes) on the court you have two ball handlers, so you’re not going to get trapped. This goes hand-in-hand with my desire for a structured, motion offense. Instead of relying on a mediocre playmaker to make all your plays for the team (and Duhon is mediocre even when he’s playing his best), you spread that responsibility around to Nate, Toney, Hughes, Lee, Gallo, etc. This, of course, already happens to some extent since all these guys have some ability to make plays for others, but I would like to see if happen in a more structured way without Duhon on the court until he gets his stuff together.
Anyway, I am not one of those clamoring for playing the young guys just because they are young, I am for playing them because I think they might actually be better than Duhon and Chandler.

Danilo was somewhat explosive in Italy, so it might be the back. Still, though, someone like Hedo or Dirk doesn’t rely on explosiveness so much as savvy. Savvy is something it might take a few years to develop. Even if it never does, I’ve said before that I’m fine with a Peja Stojakovic type.

Bucks GM is John Hammond, former Joe Dumars assistant. He has done a good job of turning over the roster without too many resources, and of recovering from the Joe Alexander pick and RJ trade (both of which were his mistakes, I’m just saying that like Joe D he recovers quickly from his mistakes).
There’s no way to say for sure whether the Knicks would get embarrassed playing more of Hill, Landry, etc. unless Mike D’Antoni actually tries it at some point. There’s no clear wingman for a LeBron, but the Knicks young guys have impressed me in the minutes they’ve had (besides Wilson Chandler).

Robert,

Right now, today, I would not say that Danilo is a better player than Ersan. At least certainly not clearly better.

You mocked me specifically for calling Ersan a good rebounder, though, which he is. So I responded specifically to your point.

Danilo Gallinari is a great shooter, a good scorer, has a lot of potential, and I’ve been as big a fan of the guy as anyone here. What has he showed us at the NBA level besides a great outside shot, though? He’s not making plays for others, he doesn’t rebound, and his defense is questionable. He gets 24% of his “close” shots blocked and can’t rebound, so at this point I think it’s fair to say he’s not a PF.
Ersan Ilyasova has a more refined game at this point, after taking his knocks in the NBA for two seasons and then developing in Spain for two more. He’s a good scorer and outside shooter, though not as ridiculously efficient as Danilo. He’s a better rebounder. He gets more assists and turns it over less. He seems to be a better defender (based on opponents PER and having a very strong defensive +/- on a good defensive team).
If they were only thinking about this season, I don’t know that the Bucks would trade Ersan for Danilo; although, Danilo is a terrifically efficient scorer and that does count for a whole lot. Of course, Danilo has more theoretical potential, since he’s an incredibly efficient scorer and hasn’t yet developed other aspects of his game that we think he can or even caught up to the quickness of the NBA game. If they were both drafted in a similar spot, though, would we necessarily assume Danilo’s potential is so much higher than Ersan’s? Danilo is only one year younger than Ersan and has a bad back…

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2009/11/29/2009-11-29_despite_having_nate_robinson_healthy_new_york_knicks_to_stick_with_chris_duhon_a.html

However, it would appear that Nate still isn’t out of the doghouse.

Toney Douglas sighting anyone?

What is most troubling to me is that he seems to have zero explosiveness (back-related?). He can’t break free when athletic guys stay close to him on the perimeter, especially off the dribble. The way he is currently playing, take away his 3 pt shot and he is not really an NBA player.

This, and other issues, are making this an impossible situation for D’Antoni. In the last 6 games, they have gone 2-4, have played the defending champs and Denver well on the road, took an elite team to overtime, and stunk up the joint in Sac in a game they might have lost even if they played well. Whether Duhon, Chandler and Jeffries, or Hill, Darko and Douglas, get more or less minutes; whether they play SSOL or a slow-down halfcourt game; this team is just plain overmatched on most nights.

Duhon exemplifies the dilemma that D’Antoni faces. He is clearly the only playmaker on the team. The probability is higher that in the short run, Duhon will regain some confidence and improve his play than it is that Nate or Douglas will develop into playmakers. Eventually, when the season has slipped away, I expect that he will play the kids more.

Yeah, he definitely forced some shots, but I think the NYK comparison is premature. His assists were probably good. I’ll look it up.

“Um, no. He’s playing PF on a Bucks team where his only competition for rebounds is Dan Gadzuric. Hence the double-double.
Gallo’s going through a rough patch, but he’ll be fine. As they said back in the day, take a chill pill, y’all!”

I hope you’re right, Bobby. I’ve been a big Danillo fan. It’s just that I see a lot of unheralded young players on other teams who seem to be as good as our more heralded ones. Hence, my bile re Walsh. This year was supposed to be about finding our secondary options for our big 2010 FA and we’re stuck in the mud on that, seemingly. I mean, as sick as I am of Hughes and Harrington, if you put a lineup out there of our best prospects… Hill, Chandler, Douglas, and Gallo with Lee, we are going to get totally embarrassed. Jennings may or may not be ROY. In a way I hope I’m wrong on that, though I like the kid. It’s just that the Bucks seem to be a lot smarter than us and that was not supposed to happen with Grunfeld (is it Ernie?) and Skiles vs Walshtoni.

My observation has absolutely nothing to do with tonight’s Milwaukee game. There’s no way to argue Danilo Gallinari is a better rebounder than Ersan Ilyasova at this point. Ersan had a reb-rate of 17 (or 11 reb/36) GOING INTO TONIGHT’S GAME (and I don’t know how relevant it is, but Bogut has played 9 games this season). Ersan had a reb-rate of 14.1 as an 18 year old in the D-League and 11.2 as a 19 year old in the NBA. He out rebounded former lottery pick Fran Vazquez in Barcelona last season, among others (current Rocket David Andersen, with a reb-rate of 12.3 so far, was another teammate in Barca and got about half as many rebounds per minute as Ersan there… former NBA C Daniel Santiago was also a backup in Barca but he’s a terrible rebounder). Ersan’s a good rebounder for a forward.

Danilo is not a good rebounder, even for a SF. His reb-rate this season is 8.3 so far, after 7.3 in the time he saw last season. He averaged 4.76 reb/36 in the Euroleague in 07-08, compared to Ersan’s 12.14 reb/36 in the Euroleague last season. Danilo is not a PF and not a good rebounder.

You can argue that Danilo is a better overall player because his scoring is so valuable that it overshadows what he gives up in defense, rebounding, and playmaking and he plays a different position naturally, or that Danilo will one day be a better rebounder than Ersan… but to date Ersan is a far superior rebounder.