As part of their big off-season, the Atlanta Hawks gave Danilo Gallinari a three-year, $ 61.5 million deal because they believed he could help them out of irrelevance and play back in the playoffs. But even they could not have expected nights like Wednesday against the Boston Celtics – especially not after the way Gallinari started the season.
Gallinari, who was sidelined early due to injuries, has yet to find his groove in Atlanta. He shoots 40.9 percent from the field and scores just 11.8 points per game – his worst point since his rookie season where he barely played. In the game against the Celtics, he had 51 points and was 12 for 45 off the field in his last five games together.
So it was a big shock when he was standing ovations on Wednesday and set records. But maybe all he needed was a game against the Celtics. Set a new Hawks record with ten three-pointers, Gallinari shot his way to a season-high 38 points and led the Hawks to a 127-112 victory. He also became only the third player in NBA history to hit at least 10 tries in a game after coming off the bench.
To give you an idea of how much he feels it, he pulls on at some point in the second quarter without hesitation behind the hashtag, with 15 seconds left on the lap clock. And yes, that one went in.
It was just a pure Gallinari shooting clinic, scoring a staggering 16 percent of its total points of the season in this one game. This performance was immediately a reminder of why the Falcons were so eager to sign him and how poor he was most of the season.
But for as many incredible shots as he did, Gallinari also took advantage of the Celtics’ poor defense, which no one has been able to stop lately and in turn has failed to win. With losses in four of their last five games, and 11 of their last 16, the Celtics have fallen below .500 for the season.
Earlier this month, after a loss to the Washington Wizards, Kemba Walker said ‘it can’t get any worse than that’, but the Celtics proved him wrong. They are now 15-17 and are tied for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. If the season ended today, they would be on their way to the playoffs.
To be honest, they have been reduced by injuries, and Jayson Tatum recently said he is still struggling with his breathing following an attack with COVID-19 earlier this season. Yet this is not where anyone would expect the Celtics to be in the season at this point.