The Atlanta Hawks kept their season alive by taking a one-point win over the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed the Miami Heat. Firstly, this means that they do not suffer the indignity of being swept in the first round, but it also gives the Hawks the chance of getting Clint Capela back when the series is still alive.
If the Hawks lost then Capela may have returned with the series 0-3 or his season may have been over if he could not have returned for Game No. 4. Now, instead of having to win four games in a row if he could return for the next game, there is a little more wiggle room. While it is not much, we see it only takes a second for a series to be turned on its head.
Now that Kyle Lowry has suffered a hamstring injury the Hawks are going to be in a better place to level the series before heading back to Miami for the fifth game. He is likely to miss at least a game, which means the Hawks won’t have to put up with his chirping on the court.
The Atlanta Hawks received good news on Clint Capela
While the Hawks did not upgrade Capela’s status all the way to probable, at least he has been upgraded from out to questionable per Lauren Jbara of Bally Sports. This is showing a level of improvement in his knee which could see him return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
This is potentially huge for the Hawks given that before he got hurt in the play-in tournament Capela took it to the Hornets early in their first play-in game which was huge for taking the pressure off Young. The Heat have trapped Young early and hard which is what the Hornets tried to do.
Capela is able to stay at the rim on offense and Young knows that all he has to do is get the ball near Capela. The big man uses his reach to get the ball for an easy, uncontested bucket at the rim. If he can make a good number of them early as he did against the Hornets, this will force the Heat to change their defense which can only help Young.
However, Capela has a much bigger impact on the defensive end of the floor. Not only does he challenge most attempts in the lane but he gives his perimeter defenders confidence that if they get beaten then he has their back. This allows them to play tighter perimeter defense.
While Capela getting back does not guarantee the Hawks a win it certainly makes their life easier for the Atlanta Hawks.