Danilo Gallinari knew right away something serious happened to his knee when he pulled up in pain during the EuroBasket tournament last month. Even after Italian doctors announced it was a torn meniscus, Gallinari knew better.
“I knew from experience that something was wrong right away,” he told reporters in his first appearance since surgery to repair his torn ACL. “The way that I got injured was very similar to the way I got injured the first time I did my ACL. So yeah, my feelings were that something big (was) happening in my knee. Unfortunately, I was right.”
Gallinari signed a two-year midlevel deal with Boston over the summer, and was seen as a key contributor off the bench for the reloaded Eastern Conference Champs. Gallinari was excited for a chance to play for a team he loved as a child, so not only does have the disappointment of possibly missing the season, he’s missing out on a dream.
“It's always tough, especially when you approach a situation like this, coming to play for the Celtics, ready to help the team winning,” he said. “It's tough, but nothing I can do about it. We're here and now we gotta focus on the rehab.”
The rehab process is long and slow. He only started walking without assistance this week, and he’s not even allowed on the floor yet to take so much as a free throw. It’s unfortunate that this is his second time through rehab, but at least this time he knows what’s coming.
“Mentally you gotta be very strong, especially when this happened to you already and if you do it again, even tougher,” he said. “It happened to me but I came back stronger and better. I’m still here and I’m going to come back, even if I’m not that young anymore, but I’m going to come back stronger and better again.”
The chances of Gallinari returning this season are slim, but he’s not ruling it out. He is staying in Boston to complete his rehab and will be attending whatever games he can. When they allow him to travel with the team, he’ll do that, too.
“He's great,” Joe Mazzulla said. “He's played for great coaches, he's been on good teams. He's had a lot of experiences. I think he's handling his rehab very well and I think just him being around gives us an experienced presence."
Gallinari’s father is with him in Boston to help with family duties as needed while he pushes himself through each step of his recovery. Gallinari signed with the Celtics for a reason, and he’s still holding out hope that he can be part of the team at some point.
“I think practices have been great and you can see the mental approach to the team and every day working great,” he said. “That’s the difference between great teams and average teams, and I think that this is a great team.”
OTHER PRACTICE NOTES
SAM HAUSER PICKING THINGS UP
Sam Hauser does not miss very often pic.twitter.com/S4o1JJqguO
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) October 11, 2022
Gallinari’s injury is giving Hauser an extra opportunity, and so far he’s making the most of it.
“Just getting a feel for the NBA style of game,” Hauser said. “Last year, I said it a couple of times, everything felt like it was going 1000 mph, and now I feel like everything is slowing down a little bit and I’m getting a better understanding of playing with these guys, where I’m supposed to be, when I’m supposed to be there, and things like that.”
The education is ongoing, and will continue through the season. It helps that one of is new mentors, Malcolm Brogdon, is a fellow University of Virginia guy.
“It’s good having him around,” Hauser said. “I didn’t really know him until he got to Boston, so it’s been good to kind of pick his brain, get to know him a little bit. It seems like we play well together, so that’s obviously a good thing as well.”
LUKE KORNET PROGRESSING
“He's able to do some stuff yesterday. He picked it up a little bit today and just taking it day-by-day,” Mazzulla said. “Not sure what we got going for (Friday’s game) but he's getting better every day."
MAN OF FEW WORDS
Mazzulla kept things tight after practice. When asked what the biggest focus for the team was ahead of opening night next Tuesday, he said, "Stay healthy and execute."
When someone joked if he’d figured out where to stand in practice (a callback to his quote after the team’s first practice when he said “there are moments I’m walking around like, ‘What am I supposed to be doing right now?’”), he said, "I like walking around."
A follow up tongue in cheek question about not having to rebound for anyone anymore was met with "I like that. It keeps me grounded."
He’s not quite Bill Belichick, but let’s just say Mazzulla won’t be needing any lozenges to soothe strained vocal cords after media sessions this year.