NEW YORK -- Knicks rookie Danilo Gallinari will have back surgery next week and is expected to make a full recovery in six to eight weeks.
The Knicks announced Friday that Gallinari will have surgery Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, performed by an orthopedic spine specialist. The procedure, a laminotomy, shaves the bony plate surrounding a nerve root.
The Knicks have also invited a neurosurgeon from Gallinari's native Italy to observe.
Taken with the No. 6 pick in the draft, Gallinari missed most of the first 2½ months after experiencing back pain in summer league. He finished the season with an average of 6.1 points in 28 games.
Great post DA and just what I was hoping to see from our regulars. ; )
ReplyDeleteNow let's hope the surgery goes well and Gallo comes to camp completely healthy and maybe a bit stronger. He should have at least 2, maybe 3, months to work out which should be time enough for a modest weight/strength increase.
DA and Bill...
ReplyDeleteI feel some sense of relief that Gallo is expected to make a full recovery and, as an individual who has had back surgeries myself in NYC, I cannot think of a better hospital to have this procedure done than the HSS. This procedure is one that I've been considering and the recovery rate is nearly 100% according to my MD. Back to Galinari.
Bill, you asked a very good question about Gallo's position. Unfortunately, I do not have a very good answer, but I can say that you once wrote that you can see Dani playing as a high-post center. I have to agree with you 100% on this. Here is a kid who shoots such a high percentage from beyond the arc, and is a terrific passer as well. He also has this awesome shake and bake move that probably needs more development, but his back probably is a huge factor in that. He plays good, not great defense and has terrific hands. In sum, a healthy Galinari gives the Knicks a Jack Sikma type center, and that is nothing to sneeze at.
I love this kid's savvy and a 6'11 player who hits over 90% of his FTs, must also play underneath, too. I think Gallo's back is more of a factor of him staying away from the boards than his mojo.
I see the Knicks adding a pivot, unless Big Blue gets under 300 pounds, which may require liposuction. The Curry situation is such an aggravating one, for if he would only show motivation...Ok, no more whining from me on him, but if the Knicks can acquire a player like Tyson Chandler, or better yet, draft Thabeet, Gallo would be a very nice piece of the pivot puzzle, IMHO.
Ken
gallinari presents an interesting conundrum, especially if wilson chandler projects out to being a small forward on the knicks. i don't see wilson as a shooting guard frankly, though i have heard this role mentioned on occasion.
ReplyDeletemeanwhile gallinari has the size of a lanky power forward but the skills of a small forward. i have heard him compared already to lamar odom, dirk nowitzki, and hedo turkoglu. let's be clear: he is way smarter and savvier than lamar odom, who will likely continue to be the lakers' achilles heel; he already looks to have better court vision and passing ability than dirk nowitzki. hedo turkoglu is an underrated player but what fan would be disappointed to have this clibre player on the team for ten years? yet i think that gallinari may yet possess leadership qualities that turkoglu does not manifest, making him that much more valuable in reaching the title.
now you guys are mentioning him occupying the role of a high post center. you may have a point, but in all honesty i think his skills would be squandered in such a role. will he have enough opportunity to able to put the ball on the floor and beat slower big men off the dribble and be able to draw doubles and find the open man? perhaps not as much as he ought.
so here's the conundrum: what if both gallinari and chandler end up occupying the same role on the court-- not the "position," which is semantical artifice. then add the notion that lebron james does in fact end up a knick-- a nice problem to have but how would those three co-exist on the court together? the answer is they won't, which means that either gallinari or chandler will end up coming off the bench, even if lebron james does not end up a knick.
if you had your choice of who to start and who to bring off the bench, who would you choose and why?
Dk...
ReplyDeleteYou raise an excellent question regarding Chandler and Gallo's roles on the team. Let me first say that I can see Gallo being a high post center, though I can see him also being that type of forward that Nowitzki is, which I do not even wish to define. I suppose it is because Dirk has such a terrific shot, like Danilo, but Gallinari is a better defensive player, even at this point in his young career. But, you asked about Wilson Chandler and Danilo's role...
I see Chandler as a swingman and believe he can be a huge 2 or a 3. My issue with Wilson is that he is not the three point threat that Gallo is, plus Chandler is so much more effective on the dribble drive or shooting that nifty 15 footer off the glass. Now, Chandler has his perimeter moments, but as he matures, I've seen him go with what works best for him and the team. He handles the ball extremely well, hits his FTs at an 80% clip, boards better than most 2's and as well as many 3's, plays excellent defense, and blocks shots. I always wax on Wilson's potential, for at 21, he has shown immense improvement as a player.
I do not see a problem with Chandler and Danilo on the court, at the same time. Add LeBron James into the equation, and I only see Wilson and Gallinari becoming better players, for that is what James does best. He makes players on his team better. Add David Lee to the line-up and you have your PF, by positional name, and you can effectively eliminate any of the Knicks current PGs, since LB is better than any of them. I stick a shot-blocking center in the starting line-up to round out our starting squad.
I have no problem with starting LeBron, Chandler, Lee, Gallo, and Tyson Chandler, as an example of a player who could fill that pivot role.
My bench. I would keep Chris Wilcox, as he will be a cheap signing and he has the ballsiness the Knicks need on the second unit. I take Nate out of the equation as I am banking on him being traded after this year. Duhon, Hughes, Harrington, and the rookie we select (a big man)as well as one of the following, Jeffries or Q-Rich, make up my bench.
Of course, David Lee can be traded in a Chris Bosh deal, and, if so, I insert CB4 into the starting line-up in place of the General.
Just think of LeBron and Bosh alongside our defensive-minded Chandler and our passing big in Gallo. Throw Wilcox in there for toughness on the boards or Ty Chandler, and this Knicks team would be a difficult team to beat. IMO, of course.