Danilo Gallinari, A Poor Man's Carmelo Anthony

By Fansided and Mathew Huff/FanSided via Nugg Love
Published

Nov 16, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari (8) defends New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Danilo Gallinari may be even better than people realize.

Danilo Gallinari is one of Denver’s main scoring options. Do not be fooled by the negative connotation of this title.

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This is about how good Gallinari is if anything. If you ever really think of it, he happens to be a poor man’s Carmelo Anthony. With the way he scores at ease at times, it isn’t surprising why the Nuggets traded for him in the Melo trade.

These two players are very similar in many aspects of their game. Both of them are solid scorers, above average re-bounders, but below average defenders.

Their passing numbers also happen to be somewhat similar as well. If you study each player’s statistics, you will find that Gallo has Melo beat in some areas and vice versa. The important thing to realize is that they are very similar.

Obviously Carmelo Anthony is a better player than Gallo and still a legitimate star in this league, but Gallinari is in the echelon below his tier and has a very similar style of play.

Nov 29, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Nate Robinson (10) drives to the basket against New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the second half at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 97-95. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Neither Gallo or Melo are great defensively, but they still are effective in other ways.

We might as well get the negatives out of the way for these two players. Neither Gallo nor Melo are whirl beaters defensively.

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    At this point in their career, they most likely will not change that aspect of their game. So do not expect either of them to give Draymond Green or Kawhi Leonard a run defensively for their money.

    Anthony’s steal percentage stands at 1.2% for the year whereas Gallinari’s stands 0.2 percentage points below at 1%.

    They also have similar defensive win shares for the current season. Melo’s defensive win share total is at 1.1. Gallo’s total isn’t far behind at 0.5.

    Their steals per game numbers are also nearly identical with Melo leading the way at 0.8 compared to Gallo’s 0.7 steals per game this season.

    While these obviously are not impressive defensive statistics, they still do a good job of showing how similar Gallinari and Anthony are in their respective styles of play.

    Dec 17, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton (5) and forward Danilo Gallinari (8) celebrate after a play in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 127-114. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

    Both players make their living on the offensive side of the floor.

    We will now look at both player’s offensive numbers. These players can score at will and hit from almost anywhere on the court when they are hot.

    Melo has the edge in points per game of course, but the other scoring statistics are much closer. Gallo wins the battle in terms of effective field goal percentage this season with about 52% as opposed to Melo’s 49%.

    In terms of basic field goal percentage, both players are tied at about 43% shooting. It isn’t just shooting that these players are nearly identical in either. Their offensive box/minus totals for the year are almost exact. Anthony possesses an offensive box plus/minus of 2.3 and Gallinari’s total is currently at 2.5.

    Believe it or not, Anthony wins the battle in terms of assists per game this year. Melo is averaging 3 assists per game compared to Gallo’s 2.2 assists per game. Of course, these passing numbers are still very close and show that there isn’t a huge discrepancy.

    Carmelo is obviously a more impactful player than Danilo, due to the fact he can make a team better instantly.

    Gallinari is a nice second tier star to add to a versatile arsenal on a team, but doesn’t have the natural talent that Anthony possesses.

    However, when you analyze both player’s games and study their statistics, you soon realize that Gallo really is poor man’s Carmelo Anthony.