- The Hawks are listing Danilo Gallinari as doubtful to play in Monday’s game against the Wolves, with the veteran forward last seeing action on Dec. 30 due to a right ankle sprain. Gallinari has progressed to half-court individual activities and is now being re-introduced to contact activity, the team announced (Twitter link).
The Capital City Go-Go opted out of this season’s G League bubble, so the team won’t be in action again until 2021/22. However, Nichols figures to be keeping a close eye in the coming weeks on the Erie BayHawks, New Orleans’ affiliate. The Wizards are sending four affiliate players and a player development coach to Erie for the upcoming NBAGL season.
- Onyeka Okongwu, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 draft, has yet to make his NBA debut as he recovers from a left foot injury. However, he’s not on the Hawks‘ latest injury report, and Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) says Okongwu is excited to get back on the court. “Now I’m really feeling good,” he said. “Now I’m really feeling like my old self.”
Earlier this week, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk updated Mike Conti of Sports Radio 92.9 The Game (Twitter link) on the health and availability status of a handful of Atlanta players. Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo and center Onyeka Okongwu could be available later this week. Sharpshooting forward Danilo Gallinari, a pricey offseason acquisition, will not be traveling with the club on the road this week but is nearing his own return.
Hawks shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, however, will miss “several weeks” as he continues to rehabilitate from the avulsion fracture in his right knee. JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets that later examinations did not reveal further ligament damage.
Meanwhile, after requiring a walking boot following a December 29 right ankle surgery, Hawks reserve guard Kris Dunn had the boot removed today, Sarah K. Spence of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter link). He’ll be reevaluated in two weeks.
- In a roundtable of NBA writers for The Athletic, Chris Kirschner opines that Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce will be on the figurative “hot seat” this season. After a blistering 4-1 start, the Hawks went 1-4 in their subsequent five games. Several of those defeats came at the hands of the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Hornets, hardly Eastern Conference powerhouses. The Hawks are currently hanging onto the No. 8 seed in the East, having lavished significant offseason money on veteran depth.
JANUARY 14: Pierce is no longer in isolation, Spencer tweets. He has been cleared by the NBA’s medical staff and can travel with the team to Utah.
JANUARY 13: Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce is remaining isolated in a Phoenix hotel room after a member of the team’s traveling party tested positive for COVID-19, a source tells Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She adds that the positive test didn’t involve a player, but several other Hawks personnel are isolating.
Everyone traveling with the team is tested daily, and Pierce tested negative Wednesday morning, Spencer writes. He is waiting for direction from the NBA’s medical staff and hasn’t been told how long he needs to isolate.
“I think I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I tested negative,” he said. “I’m absolutely fine, but I’ll adhere to whatever comes my way, whenever I find that information.”
Atlanta’s game with the Suns tonight was postponed because league health and safety protocols left Phoenix without enough available players. The Hawks are scheduled to leave tomorrow for Friday’s game at Utah, and Pierce told Spencer he expects to accompany the team. He said players will have to continue to adjust to sudden schedule changes.
“It’s an unfortunate situation for the game, it’s an unfortunate situation across the league,” Pierce said. “I think for us, more than anything, it’s just making sure the guys can get on the court and get some work in. This whole season, the court time is limited. So we can’t afford to lose court time just because a game has been postponed, because that just sets us back even further.”
Wednesday night’s game in Phoenix between the Suns and Hawks has been postponed, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
As of Tuesday night, the Suns only had one player (Jalen Smith) listed as being out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The Hawks are missing several players due to injuries, but had no players in the protocols.
However, Phoenix’s most recent game took place on Monday in Washington, and the Wizards had their Wednesday game postponed as a result of having too many players tied up in a contact tracing investigation. Sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the Wizards have positive COVID-19 tests on their roster and that the contact tracing affecting Washington has now extended to the Suns.
The total number of postponed NBA games this week is beginning to add up. After postponing a game between Houston and Oklahoma City back on December 23, the NBA was able to play all of its games as scheduled up until this Sunday, when the Celtics/Heat contest was affected.
Today’s Hawks/Suns postponement represents the sixth time since Sunday that has a game has had to be pushed back, and the seventh time in total this season. Three contests (Hawks/Suns; Celtics/Magic; and Jazz/Wizards) that were initially on the schedule for tonight won’t be played.
- The Hawks have pushed back the targeted return of ticketed fans at State Farm Arena to January 26 due to COVID-19 concerns, according to a team press release. The Hawks will open at 10% capacity (approximately 1,700 tickets) before gradually increasing throughout the season, pending adequate conditions.
Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has sustained an avulsion fracture in his right knee, along with associated soft tissue inflammation and a bone bruise, the team announced in a press release. The fourth-year guard underwent an MRI earlier today.
Bogdanovic suffered the injury during the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Charlotte, later being listed as “doubtful” to return. He was ruled out a short time later.
While a recovery timeline for Bogdanovic has yet to be announced, an extended absence seems likely. His treatment plan will be reviewed and updated later this week, the team said.
Bogdanovic, 28, has averaged 9.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 23.7 minutes per game this season, shooting 38.5% from the floor and 36% from deep in nine contests. He signed a four-year, $72MM offer sheet to join the Hawks in free agency after spending his first three seasons with Sacramento.
One of several veteran free agents signed by Atlanta in the fall, Bogdanovic has now joined most of his fellow newcomers on the injury list. Kris Dunn (ankle), Danilo Gallinari (ankle), and Rajon Rondo (knee) are also out.
Atlanta has upcoming games scheduled against the Sixers on Monday and Suns on Wednesday. The team currently holds a 4-5 record through nine contests, having dropped four straight games.
After Hawks power forward John Collins reportedly voiced his frustration with the way the club has been running its offense through All-Star point guard Trae Young, Young addressed their issues with a measured response.
“I know me and John have set the bar high for ourselves, but we’re still 22 and 23 years old,” Young said of their early Hawks tenure, per Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). “There’s a lot we can get better at. There’s going to be times where we are going to talk and there’s going to be times when teammates are going to talk about what we see.”
The revamped Hawks are currently 4-4, good for the No. 9 seed in the East.
During a film session on Tuesday following a disappointing loss to New York, Hawks big man John Collins expressed some displeasure with the way the team’s offense has been operating and the way Trae Young has been running it, according to Chris Kirschner and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Sources tell The Athletic that Collins talked about wanting to get into offensive sets faster and reduce early shot-clock attempts. He also said he wants to be more involved in the offense and would like to see more ball movement and flow.
Although there was no direct back-and-forth between Collins and Young, Collins’ criticism “caught the attention of the room,” per Kirschner and Amick, who report that Young later made it clear to others that he strongly disagreed with his teammate’s take.
“Trae is my brother regardless,” Collins said via text message when The Athletic asked him about the situation.
Some Hawks have agreed with Collins’ stance and believe that when he – and the team’s other offensive weapons – are featured more, the results are better, according to Kirschner and Amick.
However, The Athletic’s duo says there’s a belief that Collins’ frustration stems not only from a desire to maximize the Hawks’ talent, but from his contract situation. According to Kirschner and Amick, the 23-year-old – who believes he’s a maximum-salary caliber player – passed last month on a contract extension offer worth over $90MM. He’s hoping to prove this season ahead of restricted free agency that he’s worth the max, and may need the ball in his hands more to do so.
Here’s more on the Hawks from Kirschner and Amick:
- Clint Capela had a private discussion with Young following Tuesday’s film session and pointed to his time alongside James Harden and Dwight Howard in Houston as a cautionary tale. Howard’s desire for more touches and Harden’s reluctance to give up the ball contributed to the dissolution of that union.
- One Hawks player told The Athletic that he believes Young’s uninspiring performance on Wednesday stemmed from Tuesday’s film session. Head coach Lloyd Pierce called Young’s Wednesday performance (seven points on 2-of-9 shooting, with seven turnovers) “uncharacteristic,” while Kirschner and Amick suggest the star guard appeared “disinterested.”
- Some Hawks players last season indicated that Young has room to improve as a vocal leader, and Pierce has encouraged growth in that area, per Kirschner and Amick. However, the “basketball relationship” between the coach and his star guard is still worth monitoring. A report last May suggested Young and Pierce haven’t always been on the same page, and multiple sources tell The Athletic that disconnect remains an issue.
- Pierce, whose in-game decisions have been questioned at times by players since he was hired in 2018, is in a contract year, as his team option for 2021/22 hasn’t yet been picked up. However, a source with knowledge of the situation tells The Athletic that Pierce’s job isn’t in any immediate danger.
- In a wide-ranging new mailbag, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic ponders the possibility of a Hawks trade to clear up roster minutes for the club’s many solid players, among other hot topics. Kirschner notes that GM Travis Schlenk and owner Tony Ressler would need to both think making a move could significantly improve the roster for a deal to get done.