The Atlanta Hawks have completed their first season objective, they made it into the playoffs. Given how they finished last season it is not in the position that they would have liked, but they are there. As they say, you have to be in it to win it.
However, with the way that they had to qualify, through the play-in tournament, they had two extra games where they risked injury to players. Unfortunately during the second play-in game, Clint Capela injured his knee after Evan Mobley accidentally fell on it. The impact of this could have been a lot more serious for the Hawks than it appears it will be.
Capela had an MRI the day after the injury and this scan came back clean meaning that there is no structural damage. However, as we saw with the pain etched on Capela’s face, this does not mean that there is nothing going wrong in the area. He will be re-evaluated in a week meaning that he may miss the first three games against the Miami Heat.
The Atlanta Hawks received better news regarding John Collins
The Hawks upgraded John Collins to questionable for the first game against the Miami Heat. While Danilo Gallinari has filled in admirably for Collins while the Hawks big man has been out with his various injury issues, Collins need to start if he plays, particularly if Capela is out.
The Hawks are going to need his rebounding and rim protection to help out sophomore Onyeka Okongwu. Gallinari is the most important member of the second unit and if he can play with them, this is how they are going to counter the scoring punch that Tyler Herro gives the Heat.
It is very rare for a team to be fully healthy when the playoffs come around and the Hawks are going to have to adjust and adapt to the personnel changes. Fortunately with the injury issues that they have had over the past two seasons, this is something that they are very good at doing.