Atlanta Hawks: Kevin Huerter to Miss Phoenix Game

Atlanta Hawks’ sophomore stud Kevin Huerter is out at least one game, as he traveled back to the ATL after injuring his shoulder during Tuesday’s win in Denver.

It’s likely that he’ll be held out of the Hawks’ final 3 West Coast games.

Huerter, who had dealt with a knee injury in the first few weeks of the season, was thought to just be fully recovered, and it showed in the two games previous, when he put up 17 and then 15.

He got out to a hot start against the Nuggets as well, unfortunately leaving the game after starting 4 of 4 for 11 points.

Per the team’s official Twitter, the X-ray taken at the arena was negative, and the medical staff will be taking a further look at the MRI when Huerter gets back.

Huerter joins an ever-growing injury report for Atlanta. Allen Crabbe, Evan Turner and Chandler Parsons are listed as out along with Huerter for Thursday’s date with the Suns, while Vince Carter, Cam Reddish and Alex Len also appear on the list. The latter three will more than likely suit up.

If Huerter’s injury were to turn into a long term one – God forbid – it’d be a big blow to the Hawks offense. They have been missing John Collins on that end of the floor already, and eliminating Huerter would really hurt.

The Hawks are 24th in the league in points per game and 29th in 3P%. Huerter obviously helps in both those categories, and it’s a shame he suffered an injury just as he was heating up.

The optimist in me hopes he’ll be ready when the road trip ends next Wednesday when the Bucks come to town, but in reality it’ll probably be anywhere from 2-3 weeks.

In the meantime, rookie Cam Reddish will more than likely get the starting gig he had for the first 8 games back. During that time he averaged 6.3 points a game on a rough 26% shooting.

For now, all Hawks fans can do is cross their fingers it’s not going to be too long without Red Velvet out there.

Stay tuned to Soaring Down South for more news and updates on Huerter’s shoulder.