Danilo Gallinari hasn’t suited up for the Celtics in the 2022-23 regular season, but he hopes to finally debut during the team’s quest to return to the NBA Finals.
The 34-year-old forward tore his ACL in late August and had surgery a month later. Gallinari has taken his time with his recovery with the hope of making a return for Boston’s playoff run.
The veteran forward has made positive strides, and he showed more of that Tuesday on social media. The 15th-year pro played a pick-up game with Celtics coaches, where he did work off the pick and roll and worked on his corner 3-pointers.
“Lil game with my #Boston fam,” Gallinari tweeted.
The thought of the veteran in the pick-and-pop game or as an outside shooter in the drive-and-kick game should excite Celtics fans.
But there still is no guarantee Gallinari plays this postseason. There are also questions about how he would fit in with the Celtics given his zero on-court experience with stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Granted, Gallinari likely would only play 10-15 minutes a game, but there could be caution from head coach Joe Mazzulla in having the playoffs being his first game action of the season.
If Gallinari does come back for the playoffs, it’s more likely he does so in the conference semifinals than in the first round. His skill set would make for an interesting X-factor for Boston if it does make another deep playoff run.
