The Atlanta Hawks host the defending champion Denver Nuggets in Atlanta tomorrow night and both teams will be looking to snap their three-game losing streaks.
The injury report for Atlanta this evening had a new addition to it. De'Andre Hunter (right quad tendon soreness) was added to the injury report today and is being listed as questionable. Rookies Kobe Bufkin and Mouhamed Gueye are still on the injury report, as is forward Jalen Johnson.
Hunter is an inconsistent player, but his absence could be really bad for the Hawks. Atlanta's defense is already struggling in every way and without Johnson, Hunter is by far their best wing defender. If he is out tomorrow, a lot of responsibility is going to be put on Saddiq Bey, who is not a very good defender.
So who would start if Hunter can't play?
The two wing players that have gotten minutes off the bench have been Wesley Matthews and Garrison Matthews, but I have a hard time believing Hawks head coach Quin Snyder is going to do that. Neither player has been very good this season and doesn't need to play major minutes.
There are two other intriguing options. Onyeka Okongwu could start at the four and move Bey over to the three. Another option could be having Bogdan Bogdanovic start in place of Hunter, but with Trae Young off the injury report and presumably back in the starting lineup, I assume Snyder wants to be able to bring Bogdanovic off the bench. Hopefully, Hunter will be able to play and Snyder won't have to make a tough decision like that. If Hunter is out, would that open up minutes for AJ Griffin? Snyder seems reluctant to play him, but we'll see.
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