Gallo In Italy... Is This The Same Player? + SSOL Breakdown

[TrueWarrior]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rwdsjq3WLE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1WBUXEgGBQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui9GMwspe7Q[/youtube]

I want you guys to give these videos a look if you havent already. Now that we are 2 years into Gallos career in the NBA: is the Gallo we see now the same player he was in Italy, or has his game completely changed? Has he himself had to change his game due to the more talented/athletic players or has Dantoni merely forced him into being a spot up shooter because of our lack of shooters?

What I physically see when I watch these videos is a shorter, skinnier, slightly more mobile Gallo. He was roughly 6'8/6'9 during his time in Italy so its a given he is going to be quicker with a smaller frame. Hes around 6'10/6'11 now. These videos were also before his back injury his rookie year, but I dont think thats been an issue at all this season. In fact Gallo seems to have regained his mobility, and his athleticism has improved slightly this year. He's moving much better, which is to be expected a year after surgery, and I was surprised he caught that alley on the break yesterday.

As far as his actual game on the court in Europe, hes def not being used as a guy standing in the corner chucking threes. Gallo is handling the ball alot and is more of a slasher/facilitator. He played an inside-out game and nothing about these videos suggest hes a pure shooter at all. Most of his shots are in the paint, off the drive, or off the dribble from the top of the key. Anybody who watched him in Italy will tell you he was always streaky as a shooter. His handles also seem a tad tighter but most likely thats because he was shorter.

So what is your opinion? Do you think Gallo can still do some of the same things he showed in these videos back then but Dantoni's role for him is holding him back, or is he just not good/athletic/"assertive" enough to do it more against NBA competition?

My take is being taller, bulkier and slightly less quick because of that he prob cant do ALL of the same things shown back then. We are talking about the NBA too after all here, which is obviously a step up in talent and athleticism. Lets also not act like Gallo was playing soft young scrubs in Europe either. He was playing grown men of all races. I just think the guy we see in these videos has not disappeared. I see him flash his old self of handling the ball and attacking the basket, like his recent good streak of getting to the line and April of last season. His old game rears its head every now and then only to be pushed back into the corner. This season his usage is actually down from 19 to 18, yet hes scoring more points on worse percentages.

Here are some offensive sets in "7 Seconds or Less" of which Im sure we use parts of.
http://mensbasketballhoopscoop.blogspot ... -mike.html



This is the Elbow play we always run if Im not mistaken, or a variation of it. Gallo is def playing the "2" role in the offense, since Fields isnt exactly a great shooter.



Gallo again has to be in the "2" role here. The picture on the left is the play from the elbow where Gallo always clears through baseline. The one on the right has him in the corner from the start.



Double high post play we run very sparingly. Gallo is again in the corner as the "2".

EDIT: Check this site out too for more sets:
http://www.hoopsplaybook.ca/offences/mike_dantoni.html

Then I found this on Youtube. Im sure we are very familiar with these sets.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J9cDpo4zgg[/youtube]

I just think its clear that the man is being used as a corner spacer first and foremost. Its not like every player on the team has the same role and Gallo is just choosing to stand there. There is SOME SORT of scheme/design taking place. This isnt street ball where its every man for himself. Im sure Gallo, Chandler, and Fields have different roles in the offense. It would be naive to think otherwise.

Take the Celtic game last season. Against a top defense.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7SCgWBDg7Y[/youtube]

He is clearly being used different here than he is usually. Once he assumed a bigger role in the offense with no Harrington and Chandler, along with shooters like House and Walker, he was able to take less threes and concentrate on his full repertoire. He was out of the corner much more and making plays all over the floor. You see post ups, slashes, drives, curls, etc.

Gallo scored 31 points this game but only went 1-4 from three. Dude went 10-15 from the field and 10-11 at the line. This is the way Gallo was meant to play, the way he played in Europe, and why I go crazy watching him just stand around the 3 pt line. Theres no doubt that Dantoni has him doing it, and since we have no other STARTING QUALITY SG who can SHOOT (Walker is a good shooter but not a starting quality player IMO) Gallo will remain as a spacer. Note that Walker started this game and took 7 threes (hit only one however), so he, along with Douglas and Duhon judging from the clips, filled the corner role while Gallo did his thing.

In the end I feel its a combination of Gallo himself, Dantoni's system, and the NBA competition that has turned Gallo into what he is today. We arent using him right at all. What do YOU think?

[NikeFoamposites]

fire danphony.

[TKF]

nice work TW..... One thing is for sure, the athletes and the talent is much better in the NBA.. that is first and foremost.. second he is a bigger and taller guy than he was back then.. but as you mentioned, he seems fully healed from his back injury and seems to have slightly improved his athleticism..

so what is the difference? I will say the way he is being used... watch when gallo has a good game, you will see that bounce in his step, he will grab the rebound and push the ball, he will take more chances with his passes.. a completely different player...

[livintoolive]

Great analysis and something I've been thinking about for days.

The problem is that we don't have a defending/passing Center. Instead, we fill up that position with Turiaf/Mosgov/Chandler (at the 4). In the elbow, the only semblance of balance is to have fields and Gallinari at the far wings with the 2 big men up front to set picks. Turiaf is competent at handling the ball in that situation. You don't want Amare handling because we saw what happens and you'd rather have him set another pick or fake it then roll to the rim. Obviously, Mozgov is incompetent at handling the ball that far out.

Gallinari would be great in that role because he's the only big man that can move the ball, drive and shoot. However, he's used at the wing instead because we don't have 3 point shooters.

[IllegalDefense]

he does look alot more agile and fluid here

[Priggy Smalls]

He could probably do alright as our primary ball-handler off the bench but we really don't have the spacing for Gallo to revert back to his italian Lebron days as long as he's in the starting lineup. I'm a lot more comfortable with the ball in Gallo's hands than I am Dougies at the very least.

[DocZaius]

He's not a jump shooter.

He actually has to play more like we want Chandler to play, attack the basket all the time.

[kane2021]

Good job here.

One thing I am keeping my eye on him for is his strength. Im still not sure its him being passive or if he is weak, or maybe not confidant in his abilities. I think he needs to lift weights and get stronger. He is not explosive with his movements. Not finishing strong at the basket. Its something I have been watching and holding judgment.

Then I see this thread. I see the diagrams and now wonder if he is training and practicing like a 2. Jog and shoot.

The way he played last night, if I can count on him to give that all around effort, and be IN the game even if he he not shooting, I will be happy for now. He just needs to be IN every game. And the rest will just come.

[RealGM Forums]

As long as the lesser fluidity and agility is not a result of his back, then I'm not worried.

[TrueWarrior]

Good job here.

One thing I am keeping my eye on him for is his strength. Im still not sure its him being passive or if he is weak, or maybe not confidant in his abilities. I think he needs to lift weights and get stronger. He is not explosive with his movements. Not finishing strong at the basket. Its something I have been watching and holding judgment.

Then I see this thread. I see the diagrams and now wonder if he is training and practicing like a 2. Jog and shoot.

The way he played last night, if I can count on him to give that all around effort, and be IN the game even if he he not shooting, I will be happy for now. He just needs to be IN every game. And the rest will just come.

Its funny you say that because I think he shouldnt gain anymore bulk at all.

IDK if its just me but he seems a little skinnier this season, which might be adding to his slightly increased athleticism, as well as recovering more from his surgery. If hes going to be a SF he needs all the quickness he can get, and in his Italy days he was much thinner. The only reason he should be gaining weight is if he was trying to play PF, which hes not. Im not saying lose muscle and get weaker, but theres no reason to try and add all this weight if hes going to be checking guys smaller than him more often than not.

Its a catch 22. I remember Gallo was supposedly working on his "explosiveness" during the offseason so he knows full well his first step isnt amazing. I just think if he adds muscle it will make him stronger, but also slower. I notice whenever I gain bulk form lifting and then go play ball Im much slower all around. Then after playing for a few weeks Ill lose some pounds, with a little muscle too, but regain my quickness. I think Gallo needs to find a happy medium.

I would just love to see what happens if Gallo was our primary ball handler or point forward for a few minutes a game. It honestly cant hurt the way Douglas has been playing. But yes as long as Gallo finds SOME WAY to get IN THE GAME like he did last night, especially on defense and rebounding, I will be happy. Im not exempting him from putting in more effort in those areas, I just think we are using him wrong offensively.

[PeteW]

Yea, he does look more explosive and mobile in those videos.. i think its a combination of things, for one he isnt the primary ball handler anymore nor is he the best player on the team.. Some of the blame should be placed on dantoni however, we are not using gallo to his full capabilities by putting him at the corner and launching threes all day..Then you have to look at gallo, is he fighting for position? being active without the ball? Half his shots have been from the 3pt line.. 1,200 career shots attempted, 600 of those from 3.. His midrange looks good in the videos but it is what it is, a highlight video.. His midrange and postgame hasnt been there thus far in the NBA.. But when it comes down to it i think he knew that he was the best player on Milano so he carried and ran the team there and now he realizes that the NBA is a whole other level, that there on better players on the team like amare and felton .. which reminds me of his quotes recently of how he doesnt think he will be an all star in this league or something along those lines.. I hope he was just being modest because we all have high hopes here for him to get to the next level as a player..

[kane2021]

Good job here.

One thing I am keeping my eye on him for is his strength. Im still not sure its him being passive or if he is weak, or maybe not confidant in his abilities. I think he needs to lift weights and get stronger. He is not explosive with his movements. Not finishing strong at the basket. Its something I have been watching and holding judgment.

Then I see this thread. I see the diagrams and now wonder if he is training and practicing like a 2. Jog and shoot.

The way he played last night, if I can count on him to give that all around effort, and be IN the game even if he he not shooting, I will be happy for now. He just needs to be IN every game. And the rest will just come.

Its funny you say that because I think he shouldnt gain anymore bulk at all.

IDK if its just me but he seems a little skinnier this season, which might be adding to his slightly increased athleticism, as well as recovering more from his surgery. If hes going to be a SF he needs all the quickness he can get, and in his Italy days he was much thinner. The only reason he should be gaining weight is if he was trying to play PF, which hes not. Im not saying lose muscle and get weaker, but theres no reason to try and add all this weight if hes going to be checking guys smaller than him more often than not.

Its a catch 22. I remember Gallo was supposedly working on his "explosiveness" during the offseason so he knows full well his first step isnt amazing. I just think if he adds muscle it will make him stronger, but also slower. I notice whenever I gain bulk form lifting and then go play ball Im much slower all around. Then after playing for a few weeks Ill lose some pounds, with a little muscle too, but regain my quickness. I think Gallo needs to find a happy medium.

I would just love to see what happens if Gallo was our primary ball handler or point forward for a few minutes a game. It honestly cant hurt the way Douglas has been playing. But yes as long as Gallo finds SOME WAY to get IN THE GAME like he did last night, especially on defense and rebounding, I will be happy. Im not exempting him from putting in more effort in those areas, I just think we are using him wrong offensively.

He does not necessarily have to bulk up and gain weight. Its like I said, im still trying to figure it out. Maybe he prefers a finesses style. I dont know yet. I just dont understand why he does not finish stronger. He had some strong finishes last season. Not always pretty, but strong.

Sometimes I wonder if he DID bulk up, could he be a effective center? Again just thoughts.

I think we forget (I do) the amount of adjustments this kid has had to go through. Another this season now, because it looks like we are gunning to win.

Last night in garbage time, gallo got a chance to bring the ball up and set up a play. We need more nights like that. Give these kids a chance to take on different roles and see what they can do.

[popeye7318]

Gallo is definetly the playmaker in these clips. MDA should experiment with gallo being a point forward with the second unit. Toney and Bill walker could be running curl plays and this will allow gallo to dribble drive and dish. I think the mere fact of him dribbling the ball up will get him into a rhythm and help him get into the game.

[MR IB4TL]

I think people look past his awkwardness in his game- his long steps allow him to get to the free throw line. I think that is one thing that can be used to his advantage- every time he pump fakes or drives, he is 80 % of the time fouled and something positive comes from it. I've said it many times that he is being under utilized in this offense... he needs to model himself after Detlef and he will be a great 3rd option on our team.

[dk7th]

thanks true warrior for your efforts, they are appreciated.

you know my thoughts on this one. i have been advocating that he be allowed to play the backcourt. i still feel that way although the incredible emergence of landry **** fields has deferred that insistence.

still, i believe that he should be allowed to do his thing on a 3rd of the knick possessions to give the knicks a different look. you see this happening in boston with rondo and pierce all the time.

another thing to consider: matchups. what has been dawning on me is that opposing teams are more frequently putting their better perimeter defenders or perhaps their best perimeter defender on gallinari. i think the league has cottoned on to the fact that if they don't, that gallinari is going to hurt them one way or another. he is perceived as being slower and while that may be true, it makes matters harder for him to be able to put the ball on the floor. the upside of this is that this allows some of his teammates to be guarded by lesser defenders. and then there's his underrated defense on more athletic players. he shouldn't be as effective as he is but there you go.

his big mistake in detroit was not overplaying prince's left hand, nor contesting the leftie with his right hand. i think tkf mentioned that gallo admitted error there. i honestly expected smarter defense from him.

[MSGBallerz]

Against certain players I can look like Michael Jordan, I can score by driving, shooting, posting up, I make plays, I block shots, I steal, I do everything. But against good players I'm lucky to even get a shot up without it getting swatted, and I get destroyed on defense. Gallinari is going through the same thing

[HEZI]

Gallo is definetly the playmaker in these clips. MDA should experiment with gallo being a point forward with the second unit. Toney and Bill walker could be running curl plays and this will allow gallo to dribble drive and dish. I think the mere fact of him dribbling the ball up will get him into a rhythm and help him get into the game.

I always wonder why Dantoni never does this.

[Clyde_Style]

One aspect of Gallo's game we need to see more of his passing. I've seen him make PG passes on the break that are amazing, but it doesn't happen enough. He has the timing and accuracy to send lobs to cutters for easy dunks. But because he is too often camped out on the perimeter, Gallo's often rotation passing and not hitting the angles he would more often if he were slashing or handling the ball closer to the foul line. But I know this, this guy can pass very well. Why it is not happening more is a big question, but it needs to be answered.

Gallo is really the one player on this team who could average 20 points the easiest probably and he isn't. Amar'e grinds out his points. Gallo can generate 10 points in no time with a couple of shots and drives. I don't understand why he is not more assertive, but he fades in and out. Amar'e and Felton are setting the example for Gallo on putting the pedal to the metal and I hopes it rubs off on Gallo. He should be a 20 point, 8 reb, 6 assist guy nightly.

[HEZI]

One aspect of Gallo's game we need to see more of his passing. I've seen him make PG passes on the break that are amazing, but it doesn't happen enough. He has the timing and accuracy to send lobs to cutters for easy dunks. But because he is too often camped out on the perimeter, Gallo's often rotation passing and not hitting the angles he would more often if he were slashing or handling the ball closer to the foul line. But I know this, this guy can pass very well. Why it is not happening more is a big question, but it needs to be answered.

Gallo is really the one player on this team who could average 20 points the easiest probably and he isn't. Amar'e grinds out his points. Gallo can generate 10 points in no time with a couple of shots and drives. I don't understand why he is not more assertive, but he fades in and out. Amar'e and Felton are setting the example for Gallo on putting the pedal to the metal and I hopes it rubs off on Gallo. He should be a 20 point, 8 reb, 6 assist guy nightly.

Clyde, its easy to say could and should, but the whole purpose of this thread is to understand why hes not and its deeper than Gallo just not being consistent in doing it, hes not being put in position to do it, thus the purpose of this thread.

[Manhattan Project]

First off, great post.

So what is your opinion? Do you think Gallo can still do some of the same things he showed in these videos back then but Dantoni's role for him is holding him back, or is he just not good/athletic/"assertive" enough to do it more against NBA competition?

It's both in my opinion. He is now going against NBA talent, so he can't get away with some of the moves that he used to overseas. However he has picked up a new one with that pump fake, which he needs to utilize a lot more than he has. As far as being the playmaker, even in Italy he would hold onto the ball before creating offense at times just like he does here. He is assertive when he wants to be, but I think his problem is that he puts the team first. He does need to be more selfish at times and try to put the team on his back. In the last month last year, he did this and it produced the stats we all wanted. Well now with Amar'e and Felton in two, I think he has regressed back into teammate mode. That is never a bad thing, but to take that next leap that some of us hoped that he would he needs to be more assertive. We should run the elbow for him more often because that really should be bread and butter with his game.

No matter what it is, Gallo can be as good as he wants. His jump shot is respected around the league [except by some Knick fans] to the point he can get defenders in the air to draw contact or drive to the hoop. He gets fouled a ton when he does indeed drive again, getting to the line should come easy to him. All these things ultimately falls on Gallo I believe, you can't blame the system. It's truly a case of Gallo being as good as he wants. He reverts to that teammate role far to easy, it's that switch that we have discussed all last year that will ultimately decide how good he is in this league.