Knicks Use Training Camp to Strengthen Bonds
 Moments like Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas' duet helped strengthen the team's chemistry.
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While the Knicks certainly improved their game during the week-long Training Camp in Saratoga Springs, the bond forged between each other is certain to go a long way towards improving the team’s chemistry, and ultimately, their record. The team spent countless hours together off the court, which included group dinners and a memorable game of paintball.
“We are just trying to continue to be a family and get to know one another,” Al Harrington said. “Hopefully the way we feel about each other off the court will carry onto to the court and we’ll have each other’s back.”
So far it’s looking like the communication lines are open on the floor. The team is playing together as they continue to prepare for the grueling 82-game season.
“I feel like we took a lot of steps forward,” Harrington said. “Defensively our intensity is up and our communication is up. And obviously offensively we always have a nice flow to that with the confidence we have and the way the coach allows us to play.”
The team officially closed camp on Saturday night with a nice dinner that included a memorable musical performance from their two first-round picks.
“The rookies performed very good,” Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni said prior to Sunday’s preseason opener against the Nets in Albany. “They sang well. Toney Douglas has a career after basketball.”
Through their first week as NBA players, however, it appears that both Douglas and Jordan Hill won’t have to begin preparing for life after basketball anytime soon. D’Antoni was much more enthused over how the rookies performed on the basketball court than their success behind the microphone.
“I think we’ve talked about Toney Douglas being better than I thought and I thought Jordan had a nice day on the last day,” D’Antoni said. “That was encouraging.”
The Knicks’ veterans were also impressed of what they’ve seen so far from the two first-year teammates.
“The rookies did great, especially Toney Douglas, with his intensity defensively and the way he gets after guys,” forward Harrington said. “Jordan Hill played extremely hard. So at the end of the day everybody did a pretty good job because everybody played hard and it was very competitive every single day in every drill we did.”
The team bonding certainly paid dividends in the Knicks convincing 115-107 victory on Sunday afternoon to open the preseason. New York now returns to MSG Training Center as they prepare for the regular season, which opens on Oct. 28 in Miami against the Heat.
