The news on Danilo Gallinari has arrived. Alan Hahn hath twat it, Thelonious hath fanshot'd it:
Knicks say MRI on Gallinari's knee confirms mild sprain. Recovery time set at 2 to 3 weeks.
A few things:
1. I'm so, so relieved he didn't tear anything. I had a bad feeling about this one.
2. So, Ronny Turiaf will start and Wilson Chandler will move to small forward. Like I said, we can expect more of Shawne Williams and/or Bill Walker. Can we expect a return to action for Anthony Randolph or some other bench bro (Timofey Mozgov? Roger Mason Jr.!?) as well? Two to three weeks is a pretty long time.
3. Gallo isn't a baby, but it seems legitimate to worry about how aggressive he'll be upon returning. He was really rolling in that Indiana game, and it'd be a bummer if fear of re-injury thwarted his progress.
4. This could be Wilson Chandler's opportunity to explode in earnest.
5. (Update) As the ever astute Gian points out, this new lineup hasn't seen much action to date.
All in all, this isn't as bad as it could have been. The Knicks have a tough, road-heavy schedule over those two weeks, so Gallo (particularly Gallo's attacking side) would have been of great use. The bench has picked it up over the last few games, though. They're now more crucial than ever.