This summer Danilo Gallinari has been doing his knee rehab in Italy, because… well, if you could choose where to do your knee rehab work wouldn’t you choose Italy?
Gallinari partially tore his ACL back on April 4, and on that day the Denver Nuggets playoff dreams tore as well. When he returns he will return to a very different Nuggets team with no Andre Iguodala and a different coach (Brian Shaw).
When is he going to return? The team is not putting a timetable on it and neither will Gallinari’s agent, reports the Denver Post.
“Rehab is progressing well,” (Gallinari’s agent Lee) Melchionni said. “He’s doing well. Everything he’s been asked to do, he’s done....
“We don’t have a set date for when Danilo is ready to return,” Melchionni said. “When he gets cleared by doctors, I think we will cross that bridge when it comes, but we don’t have a specific date or month or timetable in our heads right now. It’s more just him being 100 percent healthy, ready to go and feeling comfortable going out there and getting back on the court.”
The ballpark timeline for Gallinari’s return is December. But after watching the Andrew Bynum and Derrick Rose PR train wrecks last season, teams are avoiding setting timetables. The Lakers are being vague regarding Kobe Bryant, the Nuggets are doing the same with Gallinari.
Denver could certainly use him and his 16.2 points a game. The Nuggets are going to be in a fight with the Timberwolves, Lakers, Mavericks, Trail Blazers and Pelicans for the final couple playoff spots in the West (yes New Orleans is going to be in that mix). There are plenty of people around the league that think Denver will take a big step back — no PBT writer had them getting a playoff spot.
Gallinari would be key to proving us all wrong.
