With Dewayne Dedmon and John Collins sidelined by injuries, Miles Plumlee made his first start today since joining the Hawks, notes Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Plumlee, who was part of Atlanta’s return from the Hornets in this summer’s Dwight Howard trade, had to overcome a right quad injury last month. He had played just two games for Atlanta before today’s start, which saw him post six points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.
Plumlee, who is making $12.5MM this season and each of the next two, may get an extended chance to show what he can do as a starter. Dedmon is projected to miss three to six weeks with a left tibia stress reaction, while Collins will be out at least two weeks with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder. Plumlee was a full-time starter for the Suns during his second season in the league in 2013/14, but has been used mainly in a reserve role since.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Rookie power forward Tyler Cavanaugh may also see more playing time in the absence of Dedmon and Collins, Cunningham adds in the same story. The 23-year-old, who signed a two-way deal with the Hawks in early November, is mainly a stretch four, but was used in a lineup today with a point guard and three wings. Cunningham expects that alignment to continue until the front line is at full strength.
- The Magic may need to consider trades to address their problems on defense, suggests Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando has been the worst defensive team in the league since November 11 based on points per possession and has lost 10 of 11 games in that span. Robbins points out that Jonathan Isaac‘s injury has been part of the problem, but adds that Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic all have issues on that end of the court.
- Wizards guard John Wall provided an update on his injured left knee Friday, but isn’t sure when he’ll be able to play again, relays Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. He had platelet-rich plasma treatment and viscosupplementation injections in the knee last weekend and is waiting for a medical report on how he is responding. Wall, who also this season has endured a sprained shoulder, sprained ankle, swollen knee, migraines and an illness that required an IV, said he tries to avoid missing games. “I’m the type of guy who likes to play through things,” he said. “It just got to the point where it was affecting my play. I tried to get through it as much as I could, but then everyone was like you have to care of it and think about the long-term, not just the short-term.”