After undergoing imaging Thursday, the Hawks have discovered that starting center Clint Capela has suffered a strained right calf and will be unavailable for the next one to two weeks, Atlanta has revealed.
Reserve five Onyeka Okongwu (who stands 6-foot-8), the sixth pick in the 2020 draft out of USC, will most likely start in Capela’s stead while the vet’s calf recuperates.
Capela, 28, has enjoyed a solid individual season for what has proved to be a tense interpersonal 2022-23 start for the Hawks. The 6-foot-10 Swiss big man is averaging 12.1 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks through 26 games this year. He is connecting on 63.3% of his field goals, mostly in and around the post.
At 14-15, the Hawks are currently the ninth seed in an Eastern Conference loaded with mediocre clubs around a similar level. Atlanta is just three games behind the fourth-seeded Nets, but it is also a mere two games clear of the East’s No. 11 seed, the Bulls.
Essentially, even making the play-in tournament will require a decent amount of injury luck. The Hawks have not quite had that yet, thanks to a two-week absence for starting power forward John Collins, who remains out at present with an ankle injury, and now this Capela situation.
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