Danilo Gallinari backs down Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan in a game earlier this season. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Though he continues to make good progress on a badly injured right ankle, Danilo Gallinari said he will not play another game for the Nuggets this season.
“No,” he said after the team’s shootaround on Saturday morning.
So, he’s done?
“Yes,” he said.
He’s recovering from two torn lateral ligaments in the ankle — the anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular — and has a sprained deltoid ligament as well. Gallinari will end this season missing the final 23 games of it.
“Very disappointing,” Gallinari said. “But that’s the way it is. We’re not fighting for anything right now. As a player, it’s one of the worst feelings ever because if you’re not fighting for anything it’s even tougher to find the motivation to play a game.”
Gallinari’s right ankle, injured at Dallas on Feb. 26, is healing well, he said. But he’s not moving at full speed yet. He did some things at shootaround on Saturday morning.
“It’s doing good,” Gallinari said. “Most of the stuff on the court I’m not doing at a game speed. So, you know, shooting, sliding, running, any kind of motion, but not at game speed yet. That’s the level I’m at right now.”
Gallinari had been having the best season of his career with averages of 19.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. He said the decision to shut it down for the rest of the season wasn’t made in effort to preserve himself for his Italian national team obligations this summer at the Olympics in Rio.
“It was not in my mind, to be honest,” Gallinari said. “I’m paid a lot of money right here in Denver to play basketball and do my job. That was my focus, to get back, even if I had to play the last two games, that’s what I wanted to do. I can’t do it, so right now the focus is to get healthy and get ready for the summer.”
Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com
