martedì 24 gennaio 2012

Gallinari a contented Nugget

There was nothing poignant or complicated about Danilo Gallinari's pregame meeting with his former coach. No fence-mending or grudge-burying. Just a few words with Mike D'Antoni, in Italian. "It was nice to see him again,'' Nuggets forward Gallinari said of the Knicks' coach, who is, like Madison Square Garden, a good friend. "He helped me out a lot with the transition to pro basketball, so it was great to play with him," Gallinari said before his first game back at the Garden since the Knicks included him in the Carmelo Anthony deal -- a trade that left such hard feelings in Denver that Anthony felt compelled to visit the Nuggets' locker room before the game to meet with George Karl. To hear Gallinari tell it, everything about his transition since that trade has been smooth and uncomplicated. He received a hearty welcome from Knicks fans when he was introduced. By the time he took his first free throws 2:50 into Saturday night's game, they were booing, hoping he would miss. But that is the way it goes. No hard feelings. The 6-10 Gallinari, 23, wound up with a career-high 37 points to go with 11 rebounds as the Nuggets beat the Knicks, 119-114, in double overtime. Gallinari is averaging 17.4 points -- including a 31-point game and five others of at least 20 -- and shooting 46.2 percent from the field. Why did he have such a big night? "I've got to thank the team for sure because they were looking for me and they were giving me the ball at the right time,'' he said. "And on defense, I was playing one-on-one with Melo and everybody was helping me.When there's always somebody ready to get your back, it's always great.'' "Gallo has made little steps in the psychological part of being a more responsible player on our basketball team. He did it in training camp, he did it early in the season," Karl said. " . . . I think he's making a mental effort to be committed and more responsible. His skills are going to take care of themselves, if he comes with the right frame of mind and the right mental approach. "I'll have to say Gallo has been better than I thought he was going to be, but that happened very early. There's no question that we like him and we want him to be a part of our future." Gallinari thought his future would be in New York, where his friends from Italy could visit frequently. He had been happy in the Knicks' offense. He was content to be playing for D'Antoni, a teammate and roommate of Gallinari's father, Vittorio, on the Olimpia Milano team in Italy. He certainly did not want to be dealt. But he did not let it crush him. "There is no sadness," he said. "Every player knows the NBA is a business. If you get traded, you get traded. You've still got to concentrate and focus on doing your job. Said Karl, "Gallo has a quiet confidence to him. I could actually tell he was looking forward to this game. I think he enjoyed playing here. I think he was somewhat disappointed to be traded, but now he knows it's time to move on and build his career in a positive way.'' From Newsday.com>Sports>Basketball>Knicks

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