Last week, Danilo Gallinari said the battery of back specialists he saw recommended four to six weeks of rest for his bulging disk.
Then Tuesday he saw another specialist in Boston who recommended six to eight weeks off.
So that puts to over-under on when the No. 6 overall pick (factoring in regaining basketball conditioning) plays this season well into 2009.
If he plays at all.
So go ahead with the usual griping about who the Knicks should've picked instead of him.
The only positive: No one's recommended surgery. Yet.
***
Meanwhile, Jared Jeffries believes he's seven to 10 days away from returning to practice and, after a week of that, playing.
Thus, for all he did by purchasing a hyperbolic chamber and working out on a gravity-reducing treadmill to recover from his broken leg, he'll be back by the back end of the original six-to-eight-weeks prognosis.
That's if the next x-ray he gets shows nothing unusual, which his last one didn't.
When he does return, Mike D'Antoni may not plug him right into the starting lineup at center, where the coach planned to start him in his original rotation.
Still, he expects Jeffries to be part of his big-body rotation with Zach Randolph, David Lee and Wilson Chandler at times, although he expects Chandler to see more time at the 3 so the Knicks won't play so small as they have and get battered on the boards, where they've been outrebounded in all but one of their first 10 games.
It's time to play Did You Know!
Did you know that Jared Jefferies has never average more than 5 rebounds per season. That's less than what Chandler is averaging this season.
Did you also know that Chandler and Balkman average similar rebounds to Jared last season playing less minutes.
Thanks for playing.
Posted by: CD | November 18, 2008 at 06:08 PM
ha, ha, ha. just read howard beck's article about d'anphoni's back. no wonder he finds a kindred spirit. both have mysterious back ailments. ha, ha. F the knicks. glad the (previously) hated celtics won.
Posted by: Jason | November 18, 2008 at 10:33 PM