What a difference a day makes, it would seem, for Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins. He went from pronouncing himself at less than 100% on Sunday to being completely taken off of the team’s injury report ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2 tilt versus the Miami Heat. The Hawks lost 115-91 in Game 1 which was Trae Young’s worst scoring performance of the season.
He wasn’t alone with the Hawks shooting just 38.7% from the floor and going 10-of-36 from beyond the arc.
Sixth-man, Bogdan Bogdanovic, struggled mightily going 0-for-8 from the floor but tallying six points from the free-throw line. Still, it was his worst performance since April 2 against the Brooklyn Nets.
Despite the loss, Collins was a bright spot and appears to be getting better.
John Collins might not be ‘100%’, but he is healthy enough for the Atlanta Hawks
Collins spoke with reporters following Sunday’s loss. He finished the outing with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Given the circumstances, it was a solid return to action after more than a month away. Afterward, he told reporters that he and the team were just trying to be smart with his finger and foot injuries.
“I don’t necessarily know if I’ll feel 100% anytime soon. As I said, it’s more so about just understanding ‘Can I go do I feel comfortable going out there and just hooping’”
Fast forward to Monday and the Hawks’ preliminary injury report lists multiple players, but no Collins. While he saw over 21 minutes of action in Sunday’s loss, his words make his absence from the report a significant development.
As Hawks.com writer and “ATL and 29” host, Kevin Chouinard, pointed out on Twitter, there is still a decent gap between healthy and off of the injury report.
That, of course, is not the same as being 100 percent healthy.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) April 18, 2022
But it (does/should) mean that the Hawks are 100 percent confident that he will play in the state that he is in.
This goes back to Collins saying that he was “trying to make sure I’m not interrupting anything for the long term.”
Christ Kirschner of The Athletic reported that Collins was still experiencing pain a couple of days before Game 1. But Nate McMillan gave a positive update via Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Collins played the sixth-most minutes on the team.
“He came out of that game last night OK, so we will see what our trainers and what John is saying as far as minute restrictions or what we have to do in tomorrow night’s game.”
Center Clint Capela is still out with a hyperextended knee so getting Collins back was already a boost. Getting him off of the injury report is just another step in the right direction and, hopefully, towards getting a win in Game 2 on Tuesday in Miami.