Position Battle: The Small Forwards
by Seth on Sep 11, 2009 11:49 AM EDT
in Miscellaneous
14 comments
In our last edition of "Position Battles" (full name: "Position Battles: Race to Witch Mountain"), Wilson Chandler was the overwhelming favorite to slide down to the shooting guard spot. However, Chandler's a more typical small forward, you know. He and several others will compete for a three-spot that's become contested with additions and returns from injury. In particular, the presence of Eddy Curry, Darko Milicic, and Jordan Hill in the rotation allows David Lee to shift to his natural power forward spot. Lee's hold on that position should be firm, so a number of "tweeners" in the lineup will be grappling for minutes at the three. Let's check out the candidates, after the jump...
Wilson Chandler- While he wouldn't create the matchup problems that he does at shooting guard, Chandler's pretty much a prototypical small forward. He's got the size and athletic ability to hang with anyone, and might feel less pressure to create offense if there's a scoring guard below him. Odds are Wil's going to start. It's just a matter of where.
Danilo Gallinari- Another multi-positional candidate who's probably best suited to play the three. Gallo's height and silly range makes him more of a match-up problem than Chandler, but can he guard opposing small forwards? It depends a lot on his commitment and the durability of his back.
Al Harrington- Harrington's the foremost casualty of the center influx I mentioned previously. With the new guys allowing David Lee to shift to the four, Harrington's going to have to beat out these youngsters to stay in the starting lineup. Al's probably more of a "complete package" than the first two, and he was the Knicks' high scorer last year. Should Al's team-leading stats preserve his starting spot, or is he more serviceable as a versatile backup?
Jared Jeffries- Jared's ostensibly the best defender of the four, and was fairly impressive in his ability to make small plays and keep things simple last season. That said, on the rare occasions that Jared does shoot, baby polar bears drown. Are we willing to give Jared more time to murder?
I'm interested to see if Chandler manages to take this vote, as well. Do people really see Wil as a shooting guard, or does everybody just love Chandler enough to vote for him blindly? Make your small forward pick and explain yourself in the comments.
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Start Al and bring Gallo off the bench.
Why?
1. Al will put points on the board for sure, at least up until the 4th quarter.
2. Gallo can be our Milton Berle.
Berle? Love it
We can bring out just enough Cock to win.
"Ariza on Mobley, trying to put some chillin on his thrillin"
"Vexing D, makes you hurry, makes you worry"
by Serious Garbage Time on Sep 11, 2009 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions
danilo!
i voted chandler at the 2. and i like the youth movement to get the shine. and furthermore i like the idea of putting everybody in their place. i think, in the long run, harrington is the back up forward (be it the 3 or the 4) and i would rather have him know his role.
in addition, i feel that gallinari’s range is trustworthy, while harrington’s is either dead on or critically suspect. balancing a sure-shot (gallo) with a developing jump shooter (chandler) on the wings makes the most sense to me. plus, gallo seems to have a nifty handle which would prove valuable against chandler’s robotic handle and harrington’s wacky hard-bounce shit. that herky jerky stuff makes me nervous.
that being said, my favorites has nate and al harrington as a more than solid 1-2 punch off the bench. better than most teams would be able to trot out.
unfortuantely my idea of what’s right, is probably wrong. hughes and harrington will start on the wings. chandler and gallinari will have to find their niche.
jared girafferies should not be in this conversation, even as a joke.
twitter.com/aighttho
Gallo!
I got Chandler at the 2 also and with a healthy Danilo at the 3 it will make us quick and tall at those positions. Gallinari is completely fits the bill at the 3 no question. Gallo can shoot from anywhere, as well as drive. Harrington will give extra offense to the bench which will be needed when we play teams that can actually stop the ssol offense.
If Larry Hughes starts at any position, I mean even first string water boy or towel dude….i may have to bang my head against a wall until i cant see colors anymore.
ya comment
dude really. Gallo hasn’t played 20 mins a game 3 straight games yet. Chandler gives u defense, scoring, rebounding and shotblocking. the 3 doesnt hafta handle full court as a rule so his handle isnt reason enough to start Gallo over him. i agree on harrington off the bench
by The Bronx-178st on Sep 11, 2009 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions
well
i’m not saying gallinari should run point. but he is sure handed with the ball. and he can help initiate the offense. chandler and harrington struggle with that.
not to mention (even tho i already mentioned) gallinari is a terrific shooter. chandler is still srruggling to get his shot to fall consistently.
its the balance i like not the experience of game play. i think we need to force some experience. and lastly… don’t agree with me
twitter.com/aighttho
by stingy d on Sep 12, 2009 9:48 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
SF
anyone voting for Gallo is a fool hoping to get lucky. all we know is he can make a jumper. its between Chandler and Harrington. Chandler is the total pkg and at 6’8 will guard SF’s well. Harrington is a chucking ball hog best suited to be firsrt forward off the bench at either forward spot. Go Knicks! that 8th playoff seedis attainable for us at 38-43 wins.
by The Bronx-178st on Sep 11, 2009 11:39 PM EDT reply actions
Gallo
‘cause of the candidates Gallo is the one that we know the least about, and the chances of the Knicks winning all that many games are straight-up dismal anyway. So give Gallo some burn at his natural position to see what he’s got and if/when he re-injures himself or proves utterly ineffective, they can return to Al Harrington and his back-board slapping ways. Good times.
Chandler
he is legit and needs to start next year, probably at the 3 because I feel he is best suited to defend that position. When summer 2010 finally arrives Willie C needs to be a solid ass dude that can be used to make a big free agent believe the Knicks aren’t a joke. There’s no reason not to give him the opportunity this year to be a more consistent scoring threat.
Harrington should come off the bench and Lee/Milicic start up front. D’antoni wont do that though even though it makes perfect sense. When Darko is in the game Lee probably rests and then I really like Chandler and Gallo together at the forward spots. Hopefully Harrington gets traded if not his minutes should reduce to around 30 a night, Chandler will start at the 3 and Gallo can see bench minutes at both forward spots. D’antoni likes small lineups and Willie is way out of position playing the two, NY’s perimeter D is already terrible and Chandler there I think will put all of the bigs in foul trouble. Plus Chandler is one of the only Knicks who can block a shot.
Jeffries and Harrington need to be traded and at least have their roles diminished now. The youth talent of Gallo and Chandler is really all NY has to hold onto after 2010. As much as I hate Hughes his juicy expiring probably won’t be traded and you might as well get a few minutes for the $10+ million he’s going to steal next year. I have faith Toney D is going to be a good pro and Hughes won’t be necessary as the season goes on. Chandler is maybe the best all-around talent on the team right now and needs to see 35ish minutes a night as his natural position of SF.
Small forwards
Unless Gallinari has a crazy camp, he will come off bench then start later in season. You heard it first here.
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