The Atlanta Hawks are exercising caution with Cam Reddish

The Atlanta Hawks have been struck with the injury curse this season. In fact, in the game against the Charlotte Hornets, they had three regular starters out. They also had all five of their opening-night starters out of the team, and yet they were still able to win.

A massive amount of credit must go to the Eastern Conference coach of the month for March, Nate McMillan. Since the All-Star break, the Hawks have had Kris Dunn, John Collins, Trae Young, De’Andre Hunter, Tony Snell, Danilo Gallinari, and Cam Reddish either not played or missed multiple games.

Throughout all of this, the Hawks keep winning which means that they are able to take precautions on players that they normally may have rushed back a little quicker. Collins is out with his ankle injury for another week, and Cam Reddish has been held out for another two weeks thanks to his Achilles soreness.

The Atlanta Hawks will need a healthy Cam Reddish for the playoffs

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When the playoffs come around the speed of the basketball slows down. Defense becomes more of a premium and this is the skill that sets Reddish apart from most other players. He is arguably the Hawks best off-ball defender and gets into passing lanes others can’t

It will be crucial for the Hawks to have Reddish fully healthy so that his style of play can best be deployed by coach Nate McMillan. This would be one of the reasons that the Hawks are being so cautious with his return from injury.

It can be so tempting for a team to rush their player back from injury if they are not going well. Fortunately, the Hawks are winning at this point and they are not risking their season by not playing some of their better players who are still recovering.

While the Hawks are being cautious with Reddish, and probably multiple other players, they are doing so with the long-term goal of playoff success in mind. While he may not be a member of the Hawks team next season, that is a problem for another day.