Mike D'Antoni Dodged a Bullet

¹²³ · Jan 22, 2009

I went to the Knicks vs. the Suns last night, and it was such a strange game. (Highlights.) It was certainly high-scoring, but hardly must-watch. It was a story of mistakes -- the most memorable element of the game was of Shaquille O'Neal turning the ball over again and again. (When I got home, I watched the Cavaliers at Blazers. Even via television that game had 130 times the intensity of this one.)

But there was one really notable element: The Knick starters were terrible, and well on their way to a blowout loss, until Nate Robinson (and later, Danilo Gallinari) checked in.

Every once in a while I'll attend a game as a regular person. Sitting in the stands, buying overpriced ice cream and the like. It was fun. But I wan't online, and wasn't watching any kind of fancy statistics. But everyone in the building knew that the Knicks, with Nate Robinson on the floor, were a wholly different team than when he was on the bench.Nate Robinson

This morning I learn from the box score -- no surprise -- that the Knicks were +24 with Robinson in the game. They were +20 with Gallinari.

One game plus/minus can be a misleading trap. But this was evident.

Gallinari spread the floor with his commanding 3-point range, while not being as terrible as many of his teammates on defense. Robinson was by and large poised (as the defender closes out, he makes a confident dribble move, instead of just shooting away and having the shot altered, like yesteryear) on offense, and was always aggressive at both ends. And when the worst thing happened: A bigger player got him one-on-one in the post, he was even money to get the stop.

Meanwhile, when the Knick starters were on the floor, the Suns were vastly better.
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Mr. J · Jan 22, 2009

It hasn't only been this game, Gallo has always had a high +/-since he returned from injury.

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Mike D'Antoni Dodged a Bullet

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Mike D'Antoni Dodged a Bullet

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