Nuggets training camp capsules: Danilo Gallinari

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In the buildup to training camp beginning Sept. 27, BSN Denver is profiling the Nuggets roster player by player, reflecting on their performance last year and what they have to prove in training camp, preseason, and throughout the regular season to have a productive 2016-17 campaign.

Player Profile

Danilo Gallinari, 6-foot-10, 225 pounds

2015-16 season averages: 53 games (53 starts), 34.7 minutes, 19.5 points (41.0 FG%, 36.4 3P%), 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.4 blocks.

Projected role: Starting small forward

Training Camp Outlook

Danilo Gallinari had the best season of his career last year through 53 games. A nasty ankle injury in late February prematurely ended his stellar campaign, taking the Nuggets’ overall stability on the wing and much of its scoring punch with it.

Gallo averaged career-high numbers in points and rebounds in 2015-16. At the age of 28, he’s in his prime and solidified as the starting three for Denver heading into 2016-17. Without him, Denver had to cobble together a combination of D-League talent and mismatched lineups that played predictably uneven down the stretch. Much of the Nuggets’ potential improvement this season hinges on having him in the lineup consistently.

Injuries have been a common refrain throughout the Italian small forward’s career, his body preventing him from truly carving out a spot among the game’s more recognizable wing players. That could change this season – here it comes – if he stays healthy, as an improving but incredibly young Nuggets squad looks to Gallo to lead them. He’s been here since 2011 and may still be the team’s best player, one who’s set the tone for the recent “the city of Denver is awesome” sentiments echoed by Darrell Arthur and Wilson Chandler.

Gallo enters training camp with three major things to prove. First he has to demonstrate that he’s all the way back from injury. Recovery from torn ankle ligaments can be a problem when you inhabit a 6-foot-10 frame. He played big minutes last season (a career-high 34.7) which should go down markedly given the Nuggets’ loaded depth chart and concerns of yet another injury. He will be monitored closely in camp and Michael Malone’s fingers will be crossed hoping Gallo avoids a setback.

He’ll also be called upon this season to slide down a position to power forward more often. It’s a storyline to keep an eye on, as Malone and Tim Connelly have both expressed a desire to play smaller lineups this summer. Nuggets brass has high hopes for pick-and-roll attacks led by Emmanuel Mudiay working off of Gallo and Nikola Jokic with shooters camped on the wing. This small-ball strategy hinges largely on Gallo and his comfort level guarding traditional fours.

Finally, it remains to be seen how well Gallinari meshes with Mudiay offensively. Mudiay got off to a rough start in his rookie season, but progressively improved upon returning from his own ankle injury in January. Trouble is, Mudiay’s best basketball came mostly with Gallinari in street clothes. He can be a big help to the developing point guard, but will also need to keep an even keel when Mudiay goes through rough patches.

As Mudiay and Jokic emerge as the focal points on offense, Gallo needs to adjust to a more off-ball role. Last season Malone opted to feed Gallo in a ton of iso situations, his 18.9 percent iso rate good for eighth in the NBA. We’ll get our first glimpse in training camp of a more egalitarian offense, which should serve Mudiay and Gallo, not to mention Gallo’s ankles, well.