Danilo Gallinari is out with a torn meniscus in his left knee, but how long the new Celtics forward is out is the unanswered question. It depends on where and how severely the meniscus is torn and what kind of surgery he chooses to have — just trimming off the damaged cartilage, or is it a complete repair?
We don’t have a lot of details, but reports out of Italy suggest Gallinari is out for about eight weeks, as relayed by Sportando.
That eight-week timeline would have Gallinari returning sometime close to the start of the NBA season (Boston’s first game is opening night, Oct. 18, against Philadelphia).
Gallinari was brought into the Celtics to provide depth and shooting off the bench, keeping the minutes of 36-year-old Al Horford down (as well as Jayson Tatum, to a degree). It appears that Gallinari will not miss significant time, which is a good long-term sign for the Celtics.
In the short term, expect more small-ball Celtics with Grant Williams eating up some of those minutes at the fourth and fifth. No Gallinari also opens the door for guys to stand out in training camp, such as Luke Kornet, Sam Hauser, and maybe Mfiondu Kabengele or Noah Vonleh. If things change and it appears Gallinari will be out longer, the Celtics can turn to the trade and free agent market to look for depth at the four (Montrezl Harrell, Blake Griffin and other veterans are still available).
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Gallinari reportedly to miss Celtics training camp, maybe start of season originally appeared on NBCSports.com