"Last year, Gallinari was a “one-trick pony” who constantly settled for jump shots. Critics claimed this was the case because of the back problems sure to kill his career. Gallo didn’t exactly light it up last night and must learn to be that automatic 40% plus 3 point shooter that many think he can be, but he’s clearly more than just a “flopper.” Despite not being overly aggressive offensively last night, Gallo managed 8 rebounds and 2 steals in his 30 minutes."
My friend Tommy Dee from "The Knicks Blog" responds to critics here that feel Danilo Gallinari "flopping" his way to the free-throw line will only do so much for his game.
Knicks fans can argue that after watching Gallinari simply shoot three-pointer after three-pointer last season, his new aggressiveness that consistently gets him to the line is a new tool in his repertoire that has had a positive impact on his development.
As Tommy says, Gallo has been considered a "one-trick pony" before, but continues to make adjustments to his game. In addition to simply getting to the charity stripe more often this season, Gallo is also making free-throws at a more efficient rate, having already made four more (255 converted free-throws) in 47 games this season than in 81 games last season (251). This has resulted in a 89% success rate at the line, rather than his 82% from last season.
Gallinari has also seen small increases in his numbers since the new year. In 2011, he is averaging 5.1 rebounds and 1 steal per game.
In the month of February alone, Gallo has elevated his overall game even further, so far averaging 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
As his three-point shooting has taken a bit of a hit this season, all Gallinari seems to need to do is mesh his new aggressiveness with that classic shooting touch (in addition to gradually improving other aspects of his game, of course) that drew the Knicks to him in the first place in order to really up his game, and hopefully silent some of the critics.
He's got a post game too that most people don't recognize. You'll see more of that next year.
ReplyDeleteZookini
Time will tell. The jury is still out on his and his shooting percentages still suck for a guy with such a 'great shooting touch'.
ReplyDeleteI like him - I'm just not sold he's going to be great yet. Trust that I WILL be hoping for him to be.