Denver Nuggets Mid-Term Grades: The Incompletes

DANILO GALLINARI. INC. Danilo Gallinari is the player the Nuggets miss the most when he’s not on the court. At the mid-way point of the season, Gallinari has only seen action in 24 games, with 2 starts under his belt. In that limited time, he’s averaging 7.8 points and 3 rebounds per game, but he’s shooting just 36% from the floor and a woeful 31.4% from deep, both career lows for him. <p>Nuggets fans knew Gallinari was going to need some time to shake off the rust after missing all of last season due to injury. And in his first few games back, Gallo didn’t just look rusty, he looked like he was made entirely of the stuff. His first game back he shot 1 of 8 (12.5%). In his third game, we went 0 for 6. And while he started to find his shot in late November, he shot 33% or worse in 12 of his 24 games played.</p> <p>He suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in December, and hasn’t played since December 20. He is expected to return in the next few games, but it’s hard to imagine Gallo will ever be the same explosive player he was before the rash of injuries. He’s under contract through the end of next season, making $10.8 million this year and $11.5 million next, so it’s hard to imagine any team showing interest in him given his high price tag and recent injury history. As much as I’m hoping for Gallo to return to form following this most recent setback, I’m not confident we’ll ever see the player who averaged 16 points a game during the 2012-13 season.</p>. F. Denver Nuggets