D'Antoni To Use Tour To Try Out New Tactics
MILAN (AP) New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni wants to use the NBA European tour to get his team familiar with a faster style.
The Knicks play Olimpia Milano in Milan on Sunday before traveling to Paris to meet the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
"If we want to play with 11 guys, we have to play at a high pace. That is what we have to set in rotation," D'Antoni said Saturday.
Last season, New York finished 11th in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs.
"We need a bit of maturity and to develop a bit more," D'Antoni said. "We need a bit more personality, but they are young and enthusiastic."
The coach is back on familiar territory in Milan. D'Antoni played point guard for Olimpia Milano from 1976 to 1989, when the team won five Italian championships and two Euroleague titles. It's also the homecoming for Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari.
The last time Milano won the Italian title was 1996. However, the team was runner-up the last two seasons.
"They have aspirations of the Italian championship, so it should be a good game," D'Antoni said. "They have Oleksij Pecerov, who played at the Minnesota Timberwolves and he's a good shooter."
Gallinari joined the Knicks from Milano, and his father Vittorio was an ex-teammate of D'Antoni's.
It is the first time that Gallinari has faced Milano since moving to the NBA in 2008.
"I'm excited and can't wait to play the game," Gallinari said. "It is our first game together, which is good for us to see how we are ahead of the new season."
Gallinari is one of three Italians in the NBA, joining Marco Bargnani of Toronto and Andrea Belinelli of the New Orleans.
He improved in his second season to finish with an average of 15.1 points and 4.9 rebounds, with a season-high 31 points against Boston on April. 6.
"He's into his second year in the NBA now, and he needed to get bigger because when he arrived he was very skinny," D'Antoni said. "Now he's maturing and he needs to improve some more. He has all the attributes, both physical and mental."
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