Jan

2010

Walsh Gives Gallinari Larry Bird Video

It looks like Donnie Walsh is pleased with last year's draft pick Danilo Gallinari. As a matter of fact Donnie is so pleased with the NBA leader in 3 point shots made that he gave second year player Danilo Gallinari a Larry Bird career highlight Video.

"A few days ago Donnie Walsh handed Danilo Gallinari, the Knicks’ promising young forward, a DVD that could alter the trajectory of his career. Walsh, the Knicks’ president, gave Gallinari a collection of Larry Bird highlights, a captivating 30-minute compilation highlighting many of Bird’s best moves, passes, post-ups and rebounds.

Gallinari said he had watched the tape at least 10 times over the past three days and that every move was seared into his mind. The one play Gallinari enjoyed the most, he said, was when Bird told the former SuperSonic Xavier McDaniel that he was about to shoot a 3-pointer over his head and there was absolutely nothing McDaniel could do about it.

“And then he did it,” Gallinari said, shaking his head. “What’s better than that?”

For Walsh, the only thing better would be to see Gallinari take all the aspects of Bird’s game that he could emulate — Bird’s court awareness and vision, his positioning, and perhaps a bit of his supreme self-confidence — and fold them into his swifter, more athletic frame.- "New York Times

If Danilo Gallinari can model his game after Bird that alone would be a huge plus. As much as people remember Bird for shooting 3 point shots, he was more than that. He was a complete player. Bird was one of the best passers in his era, plus he made hustle plays and got rebounds. Right now Danilo has shown that he can pass and shoot. If he can add a desire to win and play both ends of the court, like Larry Bird, then watch out.

Larry Bird Highlight mix