The Atlanta Hawks are in Phoenix tonight to play the Suns, and before of the game, Atlanta provided critical injury reports on past first-round choices Kobe Bufkin, AJ Griffin, and Jalen Johnson: “Guard Kobe Bufkin received a re-evaluation on Tuesday at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex. He is making progress in his recovery from a left toe sprain. He will be re-evaluated within seven to ten days, and his status will be updated accordingly. Guard AJ Griffin had an MRI at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex on Wednesday, which revealed a right high ankle sprain. He will be re-evaluated in seven to ten days, and his status will be updated accordingly.
Forward Jalen Johnson departed Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter with an injury. Johnson’s preliminary diagnosis is a right ankle sprain. He will be re-evaluated in one week, and his status will be updated accordingly.”Bufkin hasn’t played since March 2nd, while Johnson recently recovered from an ankle injury sustained during a win over the Cavs. Griffin had been playing in the G-League before being injured. The Hawks have been one of the NBA’s most injured teams this season, and that trend continues. Johnson’s injury knocks him out of contention for the most improved player award because he did not meet the 65-game requirement.
Atlanta’s chances of winning tonight against Phoenix will most likely depend on Dejounte Murray having a strong game. Murray scored 40 points against the Blazers and 33 against the Jazz, but he had to take a lot of shots to get there. Murray might have that kind of night tonight against the Suns. Bogdan Bogdanovic had a tremendous game against the Clippers, but he hasn’t played well in general over the last two weeks. With other players out, Bogdanovic will need to step up and have a productive shooting night as the Hawks’ second-best offensive option.
The two starting forwards are going to be the question mark tonight for Atlanta. Vit Krejci has been starting since Bey went down with his injury and most nights he does not have to do much on the offensive end of the floor. Krejci has shown the ability to shoot the three well and he is not a bad defender either. His production is low, but he usually finds ways to contribute. Wesley Matthews started in place of Johnson when he was out previously with his ankle injury, but he is questionable with an illness tonight. Wesley has been shooting well from three in the past few games, but if he can’t go, I assume that Garrison Matthews will get the start. Garrison is one of the Hawks’s best catch-and-shoot three-point shooters but has limitations on defense.
Clint Capela has recorded a double-double in five of the last six games, and the Suns are not a strong defensive rebounding squad. Atlanta will most likely need both Capela and Onyeka Okongwu to have strong rebounding games tonight in order to score second-chance points. Okongwu appeared in his first game in over a month on Monday, playing 19 minutes against the Lakers. Keep track of his minutes tonight.
Leave a Reply