Denver has been a roller coaster this season — lose eight in a row, win the next five, then get blown out by lowly Utah — and part of that is they miss the consistent scoring (and threat) that is Danilo Gallinari.
Last season he was averaging 16.2 points a game and spacing the floor from three, key parts of a hot Denver team that others feared heading toward the playoffs — until Gallinari tore his ACL in April.
Right now he is in Italy recovering and while he is physically feeling better the mental part remains a challenge, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport, as found and translated by Sportando.
Sound familiar? Derrick Rose among others have talked about feeling physically better but struggling to get mentally confortable and trusting that knee again so they can get out and play. Fans sitting on their couches will mock this but it’s natural and it takes time.
How much time Gallinari will take remains unknown. The Nuggets could use him, as of Wednesday they are the West’s nine seed, two games out of the final playoff spot in the conference. If they are going to make a push Gallinari’s shooting would be a big boost.
