The Atlanta Hawks traded for Clint Capela last season with the hope he could help shore up an awful defense. Unfortunately, Capela didn't play a single game with the Hawks in 2019-20 due to an injury and the shortened nature of the season, and he's now going to miss Wednesday night's season opener against the Chicago Bulls due to Achilles soreness.
Capela did play in all four of the Hawks' preseason games, averaging 9.3 points and 10.5 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game. Clearly, though, the big man suffered some kind of setback and won't be able to play in Chicago.
Atlanta is hoping this isn't a long-term issue. While the Hawks have a deep roster after a big haul in free agency, not having Capela and rookie Onyeka Okongwu to anchor the middle could be an issue for a team that ranked 28th in defensive rating last season, per NBA.com.
With Capela and Okongwu out, Bruno Fernando is the one true center currently available to play. This likely means John Collins will start at the 5, which could then result in Danilo Gallinari sliding into the starting power forward spot. However, it's unclear just what Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce is going to do.
Atlanta is trying to take a big step forward this season after making a number of key acquisitions in the offseason, including Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Rajon Rondo, Kris Dunn and Tony Snell. Rondo, Dunn and Snell will not be available to play against their former team on Wednesday night.
Trae Young is the star of the show for the Hawks, and he's looking forward to building chemistry soon with Capela. The big man was a dangerous lob threat while playing with guys like James Harden, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook on the Houston Rockets, and Atlanta is hoping to recreate some of that Capela magic with Young, in addition to the rim protection on the defensive end.
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