Thumb To Cost Gallinari Four Weeks; Miller Has Separated Shoulder

The Denver Nuggets were dealt a tough loss on Monday night after getting blown out by the Dallas Mavericks.

And to make matters worse, small forward Danilo Gallinari fractured his thumb while blocking a shot and may miss four weeks as the thumb heals.

The Nuggets are currently seventh in the West with a 25-21 record, they are one game ahead of eighth-seeded Houston and are two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz.

The loss to Gallinari makes the Wilson Chandler signing all that more important. In his first game back for the Nuggets, Chandler scored 13 points off the bench and will most likely move into the starting lineup now in place of Gallinari.

As expected, it will take time for Denver’s rotation to get set. Last night, George Karl tinkered with many different lineups and even went with Kenneth Faried at times at center and may do so again as he tries to put his best players on the floor.

Obviously, the post positions still need to get worked out as Timofey Mozgov only played nine minutes and Kosta Koufos was practically useless in his 17 minutes on the floor. Newly acquired JaVale McGee did not play and may find minutes quite tough to come by in the Mile High city.

The Nuggets will also be without Andre Miller, who separated his shoulder on Monday. Miller will miss Wednesday’s game and may miss more games as well. Miller had only missed three games during his 13-year career due to injuries.