Atlanta Hawks studs and duds from short-handed loss to the Magic

The Atlanta Hawks find themselves in quite the predicament. It isn’t because of the number of players in health and safety protocols. That began with Trae Young on Tuesday and (hopefully) concluded with Kevin Huerter on Wednesday just ahead of their eventual 104-98 loss to the Orlando Magic.

At 14-16, and with multiple players in danger of missing the next two games against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday and the New York Knicks on Christmas, this was supposed to be a get-right game for the Hawks.

Instead, it could be the start of a slide that extends into the new year, especially if they continue to be without so many of their key contributors.

Their play was, somewhat understandably, uneven for most of the night.

The Hawks came out on the losing end of a battle between two extremely short-handed teams

John Collins recorded his ninth double-double of the season with a 28-point, 12-rebound effort that saw him shoot 52.9 percent from the floor and go 3-of-5 from distance. It was his third straight game with at least 20 points and 10 boards. Collins also had two assists and two blocks but did walk away with three turnovers.

He was getting buckets as well as he was giving them, however, with Orlando’s stellar rookie, Franz Wagner dropping 25 points. Wagner did have to work for them, shooting 41.7 percent overall and just 16.7 percent from deep.

Speaking of rookies, we got our first extended look at Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper.

Johnson finished with four points on 33.3 percent shooting with one rebound and one assist. Cooper didn’t score but did grab a pair of rebounds and dish out an assist. Overall, the pair looked every bit the rookies that they are but that was to be expected without the team’s best three players on the floor.