Gallinari-less Nuggets face injury depleted Grizzlies

Losers of five of their last seven, the Denver Nuggets start perhaps the easiest stretch of their 2015-16 season tonight, against the Memphis Grizzlies.

What lies ahead for the Nuggets over the next ten days is seven straight home games against the aforementioned Grizzlies, Lakers, Nets, Mavericks, Knicks, Suns and Wizards. Just two of those teams — Dallas and Memphis — currently sit in playoff position.

Life without Gallo

After injuring his right ankle in the Nuggets 122-116 overtime loss in Dallas over the weekend, Danilo Gallinari underwent an MRI, which came back negative, but revealed a sprain similar to the one that sidelined him for six games in December.

This sprain, although similar, appears to be a bit worse.

“He compared it to his sprain earlier in the year, where he missed, I think two weeks, six games,” Malone said. “And he said it was worse.

“Moving forward we have a seven-game homestead. I don’t think he plays in any of these seven games,” Malone said. “Hopefully I’m wrong.”

Malone wouldn’t reveal who would start in Gallinari’s place, but did list Will Barton, JaKarr Sampson, and Darrell Arthur as possibilities.

I also asked Malone who he’s looking at to step up in Gallinari’s absence?

“It’s not going to fall on one guy,” Malone said. “Obviously, Gary may need to step up more. I told Gary today, ‘listen instead of playing you 42 minutes, I’m going to have to play you 46.’ I’m really running him into the ground. I think it’s going to be a committee, I really do.”

It’s worth noting that in Gallo’s six-game absence earlier this season, Barton averaged 22.8 points 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in just over 34 minutes per game.

Augustin providing a steady hand

What a deadline pickup D.J. Augustin has been.

The 28-year-old who started the year as Oklahoma City’s primary backup point guard, but was put on the trade block when rookie Cameron Payne supplanted him in the rotation, has exceeded expectation through five games in a Nuggets uniform.

Augustin has scored in double figures in three of those five contests, including a 20-point, one turnover performance in 36 minutes against Dallas. He’s given Denver important minutes, spelling rookie Emmanuel Mudiay who’s just 2 of his last 15 from the field and has struggled since the All-Star Break.

Now it’s doubtful Augustin will be back with the Nuggets next season, as he’s on an expiring deal and about to enter a fruitful free-agent market. Plus, Denver has Jameer Nelson, a comparable player to Augustin who’s only on the first of an extremely affordable three-year deal.

Mangled Memphis

The Grizzlies have the look and feel of a team that’s truly teetering on the edge.

On a positive note, they’re currently the five seed in the West, a full six games up on the current ninth seed Utah Jazz. Memphis also plays their next four games against Denver, Sacramento, Utah and Phoenix and if they take care of business, they’re likely locked in for the playoffs.

But then you take a look at their roster and the playoffs seem like a task that’s easier said than done. Marc Gasol is done for the season, Jeff Green is now with the Clippers, Courtney Lee is in Charlotte and coach Dave Joerger is relying on Lance Stephenson, Matt Barnes and even P.J. Hairston for close to 30 minutes a night.

They’re likely to hang on in the West and parachute into the playoffs as the seven or eight seed, but if they start losing, watch out. The Grizzlies last ten games feature the Spurs (twice), Nuggets, Raptors, Magic, Bulls, Mavericks, Warriors (twice) and Clippers.

Containing Conley

With the injuries and moves that Memphis made at the deadline, the pressure to get this team into the playoffs has shifted squarely onto the shoulders of the Grizzlies’ veteran point guard.

Since Gasol’s been sidelined, Mike Conley’s averaging 18.8 points per game. That’s 4.4 more points than he averaged over the first 52 games of the season with Gasol in the lineup.

I’d expect Gary Harris to get the start on Conley with Mudiay checking Hairston.