What the Atlanta Hawks will miss with Onyeka Okongwu out vs CHI

The Atlanta Hawks (29-32) will be without Onyeka Okongwu when they take on the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. Their second-year big man entered concussion protocol after taking a blow to the head in the loss to the Boston Celtics after just over seven minutes of floor time. He finished with five points and three personal fouls.

Fouling has been a bit of an issue for Okongwu in his short career. He’s second behind only John Collins among the Hawks rotation in personal fouls in the first half of games and leads the team with 3.2 per contest.

But he is a much-needed counterbalance to Clint Capela who is averaging 8.1 points on 66.0 percent shooting in 24 minutes per game since returning from an ankle injury.

Okongwu has averaged the same 8.1 points on 72.4 percent shooting in 18 minutes.

The Hawks frontcourt will be woefully thin against the Bulls

Okongwu’s biggest advantage is in his ability to knock down free throws, shooting 77.1 percent over that 17-game stretch and 73.1 for the season. Capela has hit just 44.8 percent at the stripe and is having a miserable season knocking down just 46.0 percent. This could suggest Okongwu will be the better option to close games in the near future.

It isn’t all in the former USC Trojan’s favor, though. Capela is more than doubling him up in rebounds with 12.1 on the season and still 9.9 during this slump. Meanwhile, Okongwu is averaging just 5.3 boards this year and 4.6 in the aforementioned span.

The biggest difference is on the defensive glass where the veteran has a 5.2-board edge whereas Capela’s advantage is just 1.6 rebounds on offense.

A lot of that has to do with how they defend.

This is where the Hawks will miss Okongwu’s ability to switch and guard out on the perimeter; a must when facing the Bulls Nikola Vucevic who is averaging 4.8 threes per contest; seventh among NBA centers.

Okongwu was also credited with holding Zach LaVine to 1-of-4 shooting and 0-for-2 threes.

Opponents are shooting 32.0 percent from downtown when defended by Okongwu and 36.6 percent on Capela.

But Capela had one of his best games of the season last time out versus the Bulls with 14 points, 17 boards, and two blocks. He also held Vucevic in check with a 2-for-8 shooting night including 0-for-1 from deep. Okongwu was solid too with eight points and four rebounds to go with five assists and a steal.

Capela finished as a minus-five as the starters got worked while Okowu was a plus-one.

Of course, some of that has to do with the former matching up with starters while the latter goes against second units. But that is part of why they complement each other so well. Going from the steady Capela to the twitchy Okongwu is a good way to keep the defense off-balance.

We got the final word that Collins is still out. He was listed as doubtful after missing the last six games with a strained foot despite general manager Travis Schlenk’s optimism.

The Hawks could also be without Trae Young who is a game-time decision after spraining his ankle landing on Boston’s Marcus Smart but his plan is to play through it. That means they will be relying on Gorgui Dieng a lot more time than his play has warranted.

It is a tough spot to be in with just 21 games remaining and the Washington Wizards sitting just one game back for the final play-in spot and a head-to-head on Friday. But it is the bed the Hawks have made for themselves with their inconsistent play piling onto unfortunate circumstances.