Danilo Gallinari, after a few too many physical problems, is having more space and responsibility after the injury of the starting winger John Collins. And he is responding present.
“Yes, Danilo is a big chunk of what we’re doingor “. Words and music by Nate McMillan, the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, to the media present in the after-game Atlanta-Washington, played in the night and closed with the victory of the Georgia franchise for 118-103. A success that keeps Atlanta clinging to the hopes of placing itself in the best possible position (the seventh) in view of the play-in tournament that will decide the last two teams to enter the Eastern Conference post-season. Trae Young and associates are in fact just one game away from the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the same record as the Brooklyn Nets (42-38) and with 2 games still to be played.
Winning both could give the last Eastern finalists two chances to play for access to the Playoffs in front of the home crowd, waiting to understand not only in what position Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will end up, but also the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Hornets, who complete the quartet with dreams of glory. Dreams that, in the Hawks house, they also necessarily pass from the performance of a revived Danilo Gallinaridecisive in the night with 26 points and 10 rebounds but more generally it has risen in numbers in the last few weeks.
The Rooster is back
In 16 of his last 19 Hawks tank top appearances, Danilo finished in double figures, with peaks of 27, 25 and 26 points against Pelicans, Warriors and Wizards and 15 against the Brooklyn Nets, all coinciding with the injury of the great starting forward John Collins, whose knockout also opened the doors of the quintet to Azzurro, who is repaying McMillan’s renewed confidence in a big way, playing the best basketball of its complicated season. In fact, the Rooster, after a series of problems that heavily influenced its use, is currently traveling at 11.5 points on average, the minimum in the NBA if the rookie season is excluded, but the change of gear in the post All-Star Game bodes well on his state of physical and psychological form have risen exponentially in the last month.
No NBA, the play-in tournament like that doesn’t really make sense. The formula is to be reviewed
With the engine of the Azzurro increased in revs Atlanta has slowly gotten into gear after a slightly disappointing year given the results of last year, winning 7 of the last 10 games and moving from the hope of hooking the play-in train to the legitimate expectation of conquering the highest available square, the seventh, and having two chances in front of your audience to enter the draw Playoffs. Two challenges with opposite difficulty coefficients are on the horizon, the first against the Miami Heat in a positive streak of 5 successes and first in the Conference (but which for this reason could take advantage of the gap compared to the group of pursuers to rest some players) and the last, on April 10, against the Houston Rockets, holders of the worst NBA record. Winning both is the goal of McMillan’s troop, who, while waiting to understand whether or not he will be able to have Collins in the play-offs that will begin on Monday 11th, can count on our Gallo. That at 34 and in the 14th NBA seasonphysical permitting, proves that it can still be a fundamental cog in a young and ambitious team that, dragged by its phenomenon, Trae Young wants to try to surprise as he did a year ago.
One eye on the play-in … and one on the future
However, Danilo’s goal is not only the mini-tournament to qualify for the Playoffs: in fact, in recent weeks, the native of Sant’Angelo Lodigiano is playing an important piece of his imminent future. The contract of over 60 million signed with the Hawks two years ago will in fact enter its last season and of the 21 million in total only 5 are guaranteed. This means that Atlanta could cut the Italian wing by June 29, 2022, paying him only “5 million” and making him a free-agent: otherwise, from June 30 onwards the Gallo contract will be guaranteed for the full amount and for the whole year. If this is not the case, however, the overseas rumors have already brought out an interest from the Brooklyn Nets, one of the battleships of the East but currently looking for a new balance after the farewell of James Harden, as well as a resounding voice of a return to Olimpia Milano that would represent the closing of a circle. For that, however, there is always time: Gallinari is still worth the NBA today and is showing it.
