The hours after Danilo Gallinari scored a career-high 40 points on Sunday at Orlando were made for reflection.
Danilo Gallinari has had a lot to be excited about with his play of late. (AP Photo/Willie J. Allen Jr.)
Finally.
It had been a long road to get to the point where a game was his, where the basket looked like an ocean, where he was so dialed in that he could not be stopped. It had been a long time.
Two years, to be exact.
And so, that night, he thought about the entire journey that led up to that.
“Yeah, that’s what I did, to be honest,” Gallinari said. “That night. And in talking to my family and my friends, you always think about there was 19 months that I was not able to play basketball, I was not able to do what I loved to do.
“So, yes, I thought about all of those last two years.”
No Nuggets player has been hotter in the last five games than Gallinari. Because he’s been rested for a couple of those contests, Gallo’s numbers of 22.3 points on 46.7 percent shooting from the field are in only three of those games, but regardless he’s been the team’s most productive player over that span.
And while the 3-point shot has been there, it hasn’t been central to his game. The free throw line is accounting for almost six points per game for him, as he’s been aggressive at drawing fouls, getting about 5.3 per game during that span.
Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt sees Gallinari’s recent play as just the tip of the iceberg of what he can ultimately be.
“He could become better, he could become a smarter player,” Hunt said. “Athleticism can be honed. I’m just thankful for him to have time. He may not be the same, but a lot of the great players, when they come back from injury, they add something, they’ll subtract something, they’ll emphasize something. He’s no different. He knows what his weapon is, his ability to shoot the ball. But he’s putting together a nice little package of drives, finding other guys — and he’s an underrated passer. Gallo is going to figure out ways to reinvent himself. I’m not worried about Gallo at all.”
Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com
