The Hawks are back in action tomorrow night for the first time in over a week.
The All-Star Break is over and now the final push for the playoffs is going to take place over the next month and a half. The Hawks have a three-game homestand coming out of the break and that begins tomorrow against the Toronto Raptors. Ahead of tomorrow's matchup with the Raptors, the Hawks just released their injury report.
Onyeka Okongwu (Left big toe sprain) and Mouhamed Gueye (right low back stress fracture) are the only Hawks on the injury report and they are both listed as out.
Before the All-Star Break, Okongwu injured his big left toe in a game against the Chicago Bulls and he was out for the next game against the Charlotte Hornets. The Hawks provided this update after his initial injury:
"Following an X-ray last night at State Farm Arena and an MRI today at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, Okongwu has been diagnosed with a left big toe sprain. He will be listed as out for tomorrow’s game at Charlotte and will be re-evaluated in seven-to-10 days."
Today at practice Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said that Okongwu would be out for the foreseeable future:
"I don't want to speak out of turn as far as a timeline goes, but he's not going to be available for the foreseeable future."
That is obviously big news for the Hawks. Since taking over as the starting center with Clint Capela sidelined with an injury, Okongwu has played really well and you could make the argument that he could be the starting center for the rest of the season before this news today. The Hawks started Bruno Fernando in the game against Charlotte with Okongwu and Capela both out. Fernando could start tomorrow's game and Capela could come off the bench, but that is just speculation.
The Hawks have had a hard time getting healthy this year. There have not been many games where there top eight players of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Okongwu, Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and De'Andre Hunter have been healthy. Atlanta has plenty of issues, but not having these guys together for more games has hindered this team this season.
Keep an eye out for an official update on Okongwu from the Hawks.
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