Atlanta Hawks: Bogdan Bogdanovic appears to be over his knee injury

With the Atlanta Hawks 91-87 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on the road, they bring their record to 1-2 this preseason. In a hard-fought game, things weren’t always pretty without Trae Young or Delon Wright and with Kevin Huerter starting at point guard. Thankfully, rookie Sharife Cooper took advantage of his chance to leave a mark with a 10-point fourth quarter.

John Collins had a double-double and is now averaging 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds through three preseason games.

He led the team with 16 points and 12 boards, but he shared the former with teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was appearing in just his second game this preseason after Nate McMillan opted to rotate who would play in which game.

Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic appears completely over his knee injury

On the night, Bogdanovic had five assists, three rebounds, and one steal too

He leads the team in assists (4.0) and steals (2.5) per game, is third on the team in scoring (13.0) and minutes (24.8), and is shooting 40.0 percent from deep. The four-year NBA vet shot 46.2 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from outside on Saturday.

Bogdanovic started slowly, going just 2-for-7 from the floor in the first half before hitting 4-of-6 shots, including 3-of-4 triples, in the second half for 11 of his points.

In the Hawks first preseason contest against the Miami Heat, Bogdanovic’s only other appearance, he had just 10 points and struggled from the floor, shooting just 30.8 percent overall and 22.2 percent beyond the arc. Of course, in his usual fashion, he came away with four steals, three assists (to one turnover), and one rebound.

That his offense is becoming more efficient while he is maintaining the multi-faceted game we saw on full display during the Hawks run to the Eastern Conference Finals is even better than the raw numbers from this game.

It is enhanced by the fact that he and John Collins are the only starters who are healthy at the moment, though all are expected to be ready at or near the start of the season.

All of the injuries threaten the stall the Hawks as they try to build up the momentum and chemistry McMillan seeks. But having Bogdanovic be as far along as he is taking some of the sting away.

The Hawks don’t play again until Thursday when they face the Heat again, this time in Atlanta.

It is fully possible that most if not all of Hunter, Wright, and Young have better outlooks by then than they do now.

In the meantime, it’s nice to see Bogdanovic — who averaged 23.5 points, 3.8 assists, 2.7 boards, and 2.0 steals over the Hawks last six playoff games — rounding into form. That will go a long way in helping the others ease back into things after they will have lost significant game conditioning.