When the Denver Nuggets traded Ty Lawson in the offseason, veterans like Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Kenneth Faried were expected to step up in his absence, specifically on the offensive end. While Chandler hasn’t appeared in any games, Gallinari and Faried are Denver’s top two scorers. Being surrounded by a lot of young talent puts a lot of pressure on a guy like Gallinari to carry the load offensively. With the news that Chandler’s hip injury is going to require season-ending surgery, the weight on Gallinari’s shoulders is only going to get heavier.
It’s clear Gallinari has made a conscious effort to be more aggressive offensively — he’s currently averaging over 13 shot attempts per game, and his career-high for a season is 12.3. Is that something he can maintain for a full 82-game season though? It’s only been eight games, so it’s still too early to tell if this is permanent or not. Gallinari could have been stepped up his play thinking that it would only be temporary, and that once Chandler returned, he would help take some of the pressure off of him. However, now that’s not an alternative. Now it’s up to Gallinari, Faried and a host of young, inconsistent players.
Not only does the absence of Chandler place more pressure on Gallinari to perform, it also puts him in a position where he must do something that he has struggled to do his entire career, stay healthy. He missed 22 games last year, and an entire season the year before. Both Chandler and Gallinari have had their injury issues in the past, but very rarely have they both missed significant time simultaneously. With Chandler gone, the Nuggets can’t afford to lose Gallinari.
Losing Gallinari would put the offense in the hands of Faried and rookie Emmanuel Mudiay. Mudiay is putting up numbers, but he’s shooting just 32 percent from the field and is going to battle inconsistency all season long. Faried is a dynamic forward, but keep him outside of the paint, and he’s rendered ineffective. Chandler’s injury has been a good thing for players like Gary Harris and Will Barton whose roles and minutes have increased in his absence, but they are nothing more than third or fourth scoring options at this point.
The bottom line is that Denver has gotten off to a nice start, and if they have any hope of sustaining success for the season, Gallinari has to be on the floor.
Derek McVay is a Boston Celtics and NBA featured writer for www.RantSports.com. He also contributes to the NFL. Follow him on Twitter @mcvay34, or add him to your network on Google.