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ATLANTA – On the second night of a back-to-back, the Atlanta Hawks were down more key players as they tried to get a win at home against the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, the lack of depth caught up with them, and though it came to a final shot, the Hawks were not able to get the victory.
Through four games, the Hawks have been dealt injuries to Bogdan Bogdanovic and De'Andre Hunter. Before the season started, Kobe Bufkin suffered a right shoulder injury that has kept him out for most likely the foreseeable future. Onyeka Okongwu was recovering from a toe injury during training camp, but he was able to play in the Hawks' first three games; he was ruled out for injury management against the Wizards. To make matters worse, during the game, Vit Krejci was ruled out with a right adductor injury.
This means that more pressure is on Trae Young to get going, and in a game where he shot 2-of-15, having a few more players to lean on would have been great. After the game, Young spoke about the injuries that the Hawks have had to start the season.
“It’s not great; it’s not fun. I wish my team was full and healthy,” Young said. “I feel like I’ve been through this a lot since I’ve been here. I wish I could have everyone out there. I know they make things a lot more easier for me, but we have to figure it out. It’s a next-man-up mentality with this league. I know it’s cliche and everybody says it, but we got to live by it, and we got to move forward.”
Trae Young misses the game winner and the Hawks lose to the Wizards 121-119
Jalen Johnson finishes with 29 points and 12 rebounds
Young finishes with 14 points and 13 assists
Clint Capela finishes with 16 points pic.twitter.com/vhmFXRwSzy
— Malik Brown (@_MalikATL) October 29, 2024
Throughout the past few seasons, Hunter and Bogdanovic have been in and out of the Hawks' lineup with a number of injuries, and there hasn't been much depth behind them. This offseason, the Hawks made sure to fix that problem by adding solid players on the bench who can contribute, but having three of your top nine players out in a game will always be tough.
Hawks fighting through injuries to start the season
The Hawks have continued to take hits on the injury front to start the season, and it's been to most of their key players. Onyeka Okongwu was the latest player to show up on the injury report, as he was ruled out against the Wizards with injury management to his left big toe.
Before the game, head coach Quin Snyder spoke about Okongwu's injury and the plan for him moving forward.
“Those things differ from player to player,” Snyder said. “I would hesitate to set expectations one way or the other. I know he's doing a good job for us; we know we want him to be at full strength, be healthy, keep getting better, and all that good stuff, and those guys will make that decision with Onyeka's injury.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic hasn't played since the Hawks' season opener with a right hamstring injury, and Snyder offered an update on his status last week.
“Lingering is kind of ambiguous with these types of things,” Snyder said. “There’s a process that you have to go through. He hasn’t played a lot in the preseason, probably half of the games, which is reflective of 80 or 79 games the last regular season and a full summer of training and competition. We’re aware of that, and as a result, we want him to be 100% or, if not, close to it, [and] he’s not there.”
Despite the injuries, the Hawks have been playing well, and with it still being early in the season, there shouldn't be much of a concern unless some of these players are out for a longer period of time.
