| Touching Base With Danny Granger Authored by Andrew Perna - April 19, 2006 - 12:11 pm
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During November Granger averaged only thirteen minutes per game, but since Artest was placed on Indiana’s inactive list and traded, Granger’s playing time has increased to nearly twenty-four minutes a night. Danny showed his worth on March 17th in an impressive win over the surging Sacramento Kings, Artest’s new team.
He scored a career-high twenty-three points and grabbed seven rebounds, outdoing Artest’s eighteen points and five rebounds. I had the pleasure of speaking with Granger in New York a few weeks ago before the Pacers took on the Knicks.
Here’s what he had to say...
On the toughest thing about adjusting to the NBA:
“It’s a different type of schedule, you play a lot more games and it’s a lot harder on your body. You have to keep your body healthy because it goes through more wear-and-tear than it does in college.”
On his former New Mexico teammates:
“I still talk to them, and a couple of them even came to visit me recently. I definitely try to keep in contact with them.”
On his Pacer teammates:
“The team as a whole has really helped me out. Especially Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson, some of the older guys on the team have really helped me out a lot.”
On how well he’s settled into the league:
“I’ve settled in well, I don’t have too many nerves going before game time anymore. I know my role, and I know what I have to do to help the team win.”
On which fellow rookies, other than Chris Paul, have impressed him:
“I like Charlie Villanueva from Toronto and even Channing Frye from the Knicks, before he got hurt. I like a lot of the rookies this year, Ryan Gomes from Boston has come along fast. It’s a pretty good rookie class.”
On if he’s excited about playing in his first postseason:
“Definitely, you hear so much about the playoffs and how it’s so much different from the regular season. I’m really excited about it.”
Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
