Expectations Grow As Galinari Joins First Unit In Training Camp, Day 1

 

It appears that Coach D’Antoni could not be more excited with the prospects of his 2008 draft pick, Danilo Galinari who opened training camp with an offensive flourish as he played with the “first unit.”  Howard Beck, of the New York Times reported, that Galinari played with the projected starting lineup of Chris Duhon, David Lee, Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler, as he showed off his ball handling and finesse in scoring and passing.

However, Seth at Posting and Toasting was a bit more measured about Galinari’s play during the scrimmage, reflecting points I made before Galinari was drafted about him being Jamal Crawford’s replacement.

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.

Even more notable from the first day of training camp is D’Antoni’s admission that he underemphasized defense last year.  This year he opened training camp with a defensive exercise and promised more focus on defensive goals, if not schemes.   "They think they can outscore people, we score so easy,” D’Antoni said. "They have to take it more personal. We’re going to keep banging that drum. I hope they get to a point where they’re not thinking, ‘I hope I’m hot tonight’ but, ‘I hope I guard my man.’ We got to get that mentality. If we get there, it will translate into a lot of wins.”