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This Is Danilo Gallinari’s Breakout Season: Here’s Why

By Darius Stevens

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    • It all started in the winter of 2011 when the Nuggets were desperate to get any consolation prize for Carmelo Anthony who had given up on Denver and wanted out as soon as possible. Then came along the blockbuster trade with the Knicks finally relinquishing Carmelo from his tyrant downward spiral with both the Nuggets team and their front office. But this article isn’t about Carmelo, it’s about who they got for Carmelo. The Nuggets received a package of four players which included third-year player Danilo Gallinari.

    Dec. 9, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and Denver Nuggets small forward Danilo Gallinari (8) wait for the rebound during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

    Gallinari wasn’t exactly a fan favorite in New York after infamously getting booed by the hometown crowd after being selected 6th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft. He also was on the verge of being a bust for the Knicks after only averaging 10.6 points per game in his first two years of service with them. The Knicks needed Star-Power, which they received in Carmelo, and the Nuggets needed potential which they got in Gallinari. This year that potential will pay off!

    Gallinari was having a career year back in the 2012-2013 season while averaging 16.2 points along with 5.2 rebounds per game. Everything was going great for him and the Nuggets until all momentum was halted on April 4, 2013. Gallinari had tore his ACL against the Mavericks that night ending the Nuggets chance in the playoffs and potentially ending his career. Danilo choose not to get surgery on his leg and wanted to let it heal naturally. By January 2014 the effort had not payed of and his ACL had still not been recovered. He finally choose to get surgery on his faulty leg and was on the right road to recovery. Now his momentum from the 2013 season can finally get back on track tonight.

    Gallinari is bursting onto the scene this year for many reasons. He is now a team leader and has the most experience of playing for the Nuggets next to Ty Lawson who has been on the Nuggets roster since 2009, and has had a large amount of time to gel with his teammates who came along in the Carmelo trade like Wilson Chandler and his best friend Timofey Mozgov. Also he is as versatile as it gets. Not only is he a 6′ 11” SF but he can also drive to the hoop with knowledge of how to score being an NBA veteran of six years. Not only can he shoot but he is a huge mismatch for some of the Western Conference teams who start smaller Small Forwards like the Clippers and Trail Blazers who send out Matt Barnes and Nick Batum to start.

    I see Gallinari being on the level of his Northwest Division counter-part Kevin Durant this year due to the fact that they have the same skill set and are about the same size. Everyone knows Gallo can score, but is he ready to compete at the level of KD? The injury which cursed Gallinari may have been a blessing in disguise. Because of this injury, Gallinari was able to work on his game in the facets where he needed the most improvement. I expect him to become a better shooter, scorer and team leader this year because of all the time he spent in the gym shooting while his leg was unable to let him do anything else.

    An interview Danilo recently conducted with Vice Sports really stuck out to me. Gallinari is quoted as saying:

    "“I think I never had the fire that I have  inside me right now – I never had it before, to be honest. So I want to play basketball more than anything else.”"

    If Danilo can average 16.2 points a season and not have a fire inside him, I wonder how well he can do with that fire! If you combine that with working on your skill of the game for 18 months while you are out with an injury I think we will have a pretty special player in Gallinari this year.

    I’m not saying he’s going to average 60 points a game this year, but mark it down that Danilo is a prime candidate to win Comeback Player of the Year award.

    Gallinari and the Nuggets debut tonight against the Detroit Pistons at 7:00 PM (MT). He will get the start and will be playing for the first time since April 4, 2013. Will all of his hard work pay off? We will just have to see.

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