How do you say garbage time in Italian?
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said yesterday rookie forward Danilo Gallinari is out of the rotation for now and will only play in blowout situations until he gets “physically ready.”
Despite missing all of preseason and virtually the entire summer league, Gallinari was thrown to the wolves in the first two games and looked overmatched. Gallinari missed all three of his field-goal attempts in 11 minutes and scored his only two points on free throws. Gallinari has not played in his past two games.
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“I may have tried him out too early,” D’Antoni said. “He’s not physically ready. As soon as he gets ready physically, whether we win or lose, we’ll play him when he’s ready.”
D’Antoni said the reason he rushed Gallinari is because this season is as much about developing players as winning now. But D’Antoni also realizes Gallinari could lose his confidence.
“It’s like coming out of the minor leagues and trying to hit that big curveball,” D’Antoni said. “The speed right now has got him a little bit. He needs more time on the floor and then I’ll put him in.”
Though D’Antoni talked in preseason of sending Gallinari to their Developmental League affiliate in Reno, which begins training camp next week, Knicks president Donnie Walsh is opposed to that idea. The Knicks want Gallinari close to their medical staff as he still deals with pain shooting down his leg stemming from a bulging disc.
New starting point guard Chris Duhon, averaging just 6.8 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting, hasn’t made a fan in comedian/diehard Knicks fan Chris Rock.
During a halftime interview with MSG Network’s Jill Martin Wednesday after Duhon went scoreless, Rock poked fun at Duhon. A big Barack Obama supporter, Rock was told the president-elect played 1-on-1 in Chicago with Duhon recently and that Obama was trash-talking.
“Everyone trash-talks Duhon,” Rock said jokingly, then added “Who won that game – Duhon or Obama?”
D’Antoni is extremely sensitive to Duhon critics after lobbying to sign him in July.
Duhon is averaging 4.8 assists and just 1.5 turnovers.
“He played a great game (Wednesday),” D’Antoni said. “Averages don’t mean anything. That’s where we’re going to change things. The Knicks played well and he made the Knicks, so we’re good.”