Knee injury to sideline Gallo 2 to 3 weeks
Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari says he's trying to ignore rumors that he'll be traded to Denver as soon as Tuesday. Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Danilo Gallinari had called the feeling in his left knee Sunday "discomfort" rather than severe pain, leading him and his team to believe that his injury was not serious. An MRI Monday did not refute that, but the results did suggest that the Knicks had been thinking too big when they hoped he might be back in a few days.
The team announced late Monday afternoon that the small forward will be out two to three weeks.
Meanwhile, the somewhat battered Knicks are thinking big in another way - the lineup that Mike D'Antoni said he plans to use in Gallinari's absence, at least for tonight's game against the surging Spurs at the Garden.
Ronny Turiaf will start at center, moving Amar'e Stoudemire to power forward and toughening the team's inside defense in time for Tim Duncan and the team with the NBA's best record (29-4).
Turiaf's impact was sizable down the stretch of the 98-92 win over the Pacers on Sunday, after Gallinari's knee took a whack with 6:14 remaining when Brandon Rush fell into it. Gallinari, who was not available for comment Monday, said after the game "there's nothing major." The team's announcement did officially refer to the sprain as "mild." But the recovery time will mean fairly major adjustments without the third-year outside shooter from Italy, who is averaging 15.3 points.
One obvious candidate to fill the scoring void is guard Landry Fields, who Monday was named Eastern Conference rookie of the month for December, during which he averaged 8.8 points and 7.9 rebounds.
Also, starting Turiaf might prevent Stoudemire from getting into foul trouble while trying to guard the other team's big man.
"I don't want to get into that too much, because he does a good job that way, too," D'Antoni said. He did add that Wilson Chandler can play either power forward or small forward. "It doesn't matter to him," D'Antoni said. And the Knicks did begin their recent hot streak with a 5-1 run in games that Turiaf started.
"It gives us another defender who plays extremely well, blocks shots," said point guard Raymond Felton, whose sore left hand is toward the middle of the Knicks' list of injury problems. "We make any mistakes out there on the perimeter, he's going to clean it up for us down in the paint."
Even when Gallinari returns, the Knicks might stay with a bigger lineup, with Chandler coming off the bench. "It's not out of the realm of possibility, put it that way," D'Antoni said. "We're just going to have to keep evaluating. The team will evolve, whatever it is. There are times when we need to spread the floor. There are times when we need more defensive rebounding. The good thing is, we have both ways to go."
The bad thing is, they might need both against coach Gregg Popovich's revitalized Spurs, who have Duncan inside and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili outside - and complementary players such as Richard Jefferson everywhere. "My two years there, coach Pop wanted to get the tempo up and get out and run. I think this year, they're doing it even more," said Knicks sub Roger Mason Jr., who played 161 games for the Spurs.
His new team will need everyone to raise his game, even someone who can barely raise his arm. Backup point guard Toney Douglas' shoulder still was sore Monday, D'Antoni said, but added, "I thought [Sunday] was the best game he has played for us, maybe in his two years."
That could prove timely, given that Felton has shot .333 from the floor (16-for-48) in his past three games. "My hand is bothering me," he said, "but I can't make any excuses."
