The injury bug giveth, and the injury bug taketh away. That process has worked in reverse for the Atlanta Hawks before their six-game road trip kicks off with a visit to face the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
The Hawks announced after their win over the Miami Heat on Saturday that Larry Nance Jr. would miss time – the length of which has yet to be determined – with a hand injury.
They followed that with a notable change to their pre-game report before battling Toronto.
The Hawks listed backup center Onyeka Okongwu as “questionable,” marking the first time he has been considered anything other than “out” since December 14 in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tonight's game at Toronto:
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 29, 2024
Bogdan Bogdanovic (left lower leg contusion): Questionable
Onyeka Okongwu (left knee inflammation): Questionable
Trae Young (right heel contusion): Questionable
Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder injury management): Out… pic.twitter.com/eiDFIQOLRT
The Hawks have gone 3-2 since then, winning their last three in a row. But Okongwu has strung together eight straight games with double-digit points before getting injured.
He was supposed to be reevaluated after four games, so this puts him close to that timeline.
Okongwu is averaging career highs with 11.3 points and 1.4 assists while also snagging 6.6 rebounds per game this season. He is in Year 1 of a four-year, $61.9 million contract extension that he signed in October 2023.
Onyeka Okongwu’s potential return could not come at better time for Hawks
Whether the Hawks get Okongwu back in today’s game against the Raptors or soon after, the timing could not be better.
“Larry Nance Jr. sustained a right hand injury during today’s game vs. Miami at State Farm Arena,” the Hawks announced with a post on X on December 28. “Additional details regarding the injury, a treatment plan and a timeline will be shared when available.”
Nance has been key for the Hawks in Okongwu’s absence.
Hawks bigs potentially swapping places on injury report
Notably, both Nance and Okongwu have negative on-off differentials this season, per Cleaning The Glass.
He has the worst mark among all Hawks players with at least 200 minutes on the floor this season. Okongwu has the fifth-worst (or sixth-best, from a glass-half-full perspective) mark among that same group. His differential is still 9.4 points better than Nance’s.
The eye test will show that both players are also very impactful.
Still, the loss of Nance and gaining of Okongwu could be more of a push than it might seem given their respective roles on the team.
The bigger issue the Hawks must navigate now is Dyson Daniels.
He is set to miss his second straight game with an undisclosed illness. Daniels has keyed the Hawks’ turnaround in defensive competitiveness this season, and his downhill aggression offers a nice complement to Trae Young.
Young, who is still dealing with an ankle issue, is the lone Hawks player capable of getting downhill consistently on his own with Kobe Bufkin out for the season.