As Danilo Gallinari was carried off the court on Thursday night after suffering a knee injury, two distinct sounds could be heard: the collective groan of Denver Nuggets fans everywhere and a bell tolling loudly for the surging Nuggets' title hopes.
Gallinari was averaging 16.2 points with 5.2 rebounds per game on the season and had been a key contributor to the Nuggets' torrid play. After being just six games over .500 on January 18, Denver has romped to a 28-6 record since, including a 15-game win streak.
They have ascended the mountain of the Western Conference standings and established themselves as legitimate contenders, but now they are hobbled.
It's a big loss for the Nuggets to be sure, but they can remain contenders if—and only if—Ty Lawson comes back at 100 percent in time for the playoffs.
An interesting question presents itself about Gallo's knee: Could the injury have been prevented? Sources told Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski that Gallinari may have had a pre-existing injury.
Of course, no one wants a loose ligament and the team obviously had no knowledge there was anything amiss, but it does suggest what might have precipitated Gallinari's non-contact injury.
Gallo missed four games in February, two with a sinus infection and two more with a left thigh bruise, so those are unrelated to the knee. Denver went 2-2 in those contests.
In January, he averaged 19.3 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting, while in March, he shot just 37.6 percent as his scoring dipped by more than five points a night. That included clunkers like March 11 against the Phoenix Suns, when Gallinari shot 1-of-8 for five points in 30 minutes.
An eternal optimist might claim that Denver could become more efficient on offense after the injury, as Gallinari has never been a great shooter (41.9 percent for his career). The Nuggets also dominate at home in the Mile High City's thin air, where they have lost only three times this season, so all is not lost.
Denver currently sits in third place in the West, four games back of first. The Memphis Grizzlies are right on their heels, just half a game behind.
Since the L.A. Clippers are poised to win the Pacific Division, they will be guaranteed a top-four seed even though Memphis and Denver have better records. But the Clippers are just two games behind the Nuggets, so Denver could lose home-court advantage if they hit the skids before the playoffs.
The Nuggs have six games remaining, including tough tests at home against the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs in the next two games. Then two of the final four tilts come on the road.
The Nuggets' offense will need to buoy them in order to stay ahead of the defensive dynamos from Memphis. If Denver can remain in third place, they would likely host either the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors in the first round. The Nuggets are 6-1 against those opponents.
They are quick enough to run with those teams and stout enough on the interior to outmuscle them. It would be imperative to contain James Harden or Stephen Curry, but Andre Iguodala's length and JaVale McGee's shot-blocking presence are potent weapons.
If Memphis beats them at the wire, Denver would likely face the L.A. Clippers. Even though Denver is 2-1 against them this season, this would be the worst-case scenario.
Not only do the Clippers play much better defense than Houston or Golden State, but they boast Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, a three-headed nightmare known as "Lob City."
The Clips are one of the few teams in the league with more depth than Denver, as Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe and Matt Barnes have been excellent off the bench. L.A. also has sage veterans to help guide the locker room like Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups.
The mission in the wake of Gallo's injury? Limp into the playoffs in third place and hope for the best after Round 1.
According to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post on March 3, Lawson is expected to miss at least two weeks with a tear in his right heel, putting his earliest comeback date as the last game of the regular season on April 17.
Lawson is unlikely to be in rhythm coming off the injury, but Game 1 of the first round will have to be his testing ground.
The Nuggets are currently without their two leading scorers in Lawson and Gallinari, but they still have seven other players who average more than eight points a night; four of them post at least 11.8 points.
As a result, Denver has the fourth most efficient offense in the league (measured by points per 100 possessions, via ESPN). They will need guys like Iguodala and the Manimal, Kenneth Faried, to carry them into the playoffs when Lawson should be healed up.
Lawson had been red hot lately, averaging 23.3 points and 8.4 assists per game in February. Since Feb. 1, he has shot just over 50 percent from the field.
Though veteran Andre Miller is a capable replacement at the point, Lawson is the straw that stirs the drink in Denver.
If he can hit the ground running for the beginning of the playoffs, the Nuggets would remain legitimate dark-horse candidates to take the Western Conference title. Without him at full effectiveness, Denver is dead in the water.
If the Nuggets are without their top two scorers, they are likely headed for a first-round knockout at worst or a second-round cameo at best.
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