Blazers Rule Five Out, Two Questionable vs. Hawks

Avdija will miss his fourth straight game for the Blazers as the team is calling it low back injury management. Avdija has missed most of the last month or so with the injury, and the team needs to make sure that he is healthy for games later down the line in the season.

Damian Lillard

Lillard remains out with his torn Achilles, so it is no surprise to see him on the injury report.

Caleb Love

The Blazers have no path forward with Love, who has played in 45 games for the Blazers this season. They only have five more games that he can play before he has to be signed onto the active roster. G-League two-way players can only participate in 50 NBA games throughout the course of the season. The Blazers want to make sure they preserve those final five games for later in the season when they may really need it.

Shaedon Sharpe

Sharpe is dealing with a left fibula stress reaction and that should keep him out for the next several weeks. There is reason to believe that Sharpe won't play for the Blazers for the rest of the season, so Portland needs to come up with a plan that can carry them over the last month or so of the year.

Robert Williams III

Williams is sitting on the second night of a back-to-back as he is still managing a left knee injury. Williams played 17 minutes for the Blazers against the Charlotte Hornets, scoring five points and grabbing six rebounds in the loss.

Sidy Cissoko

Cissoko has been listed as questionable with an illness ahead of the game against the Hawks. He played in seven minutes against the Hornets and was scoreless, likely due to this illness that is affecting him. The Blazers hope he can be available against the Hawks.

Yang Hansen

Yang is questionable with mid-back soreness, which has prompted him to pop up on the injury report earlier in the week. Yang appeared in just two minutes for the team against the Hornets, scoring two points.