Boston Celtics suffer potential early blow with injury to Danilo Gallinari
The Boston Celtics could be without Danilo Gallinari to start the season.
The Boston Celtics quietly had one of the best offseasons in the NBA. The Celtics managed to add Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari to an already NBA Finals-level roster. At least on paper, the Celtics are considered the favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference once again.
Though, their chances of doing so may have taken an early hit. While playing in an international match, Gallinari, one of the team’s big offseason acquisitions, injured his knee. It was originally believed that he had suffered a major injury, though it appears he may have escaped with “just” a torn meniscus.
The absence of Danilo Gallinari could throw the team off to start the season
A torn meniscus is “better” than a torn ligament but it is still far from ideal. Depending on what further examinations say, there’s a chance that he could miss, at least, the start of the 2022-23 NBA season.
When it comes to rehabbing from an injured meniscus, we’ve seen various timelines. We’ve seen players return in a matter of weeks – as we saw last season with the Celtics’ Robert Williams. But we’ve also seen players miss months with similar types of injuries.
Again, it depends on what the MRI and further examinations say.
If Gallinari does miss extended time, it would put a cold blanket on the thought of this Celtics team with some added depth. Especially in the frontcourt.
Even though Gallinari is beyond his prime, he was going to have the chance to offer something the Celtics struggled with last season – a bench player that could score at a high level. Gallinari is a three-level scorer that could go off on any given night.
He could even play the role of a spot-starter for the Celtics if needed while adding some more experience to this roster.
If Gallinari misses time to start the season, it could throw the team’s rotation off. But the good news is that he could have the entire second half of the season to fully acclimate to the team – assuming he’s back before the 2023 calendar year.
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At least for now, the Celtics will play the waiting game. The hope is that Gallinari sidestepped a potentially significant injury.