The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference so far with an 8-5 record. The team has also managed to withstand an injury to star point guard Trey Young. The Hawks were hit with another injury update, however, in the form of Kristaps Porzingis as they head into their matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Kristaps Porzingis is officially downgraded to questionable on the Hawks’ injury report for their upcoming game against the Suns, as per Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks. Porzingis is dealing with right knee soreness. Young was the only player on the injury report for Sunday until Porzingis’ addition. Porzingis missed the team’s game against the Utah Jazz on Thursday, a 132-122 win, due to rest on the second night of a back-to-back.
While a final decision on Porzingis’ availability for the Hawks’ game likely won’t come until gametime, it’s probably not a great sign that he was downgraded.
Porzingis was the Hawks’ major offseason acquisition via trade with the Boston Celtics. He was one of several moves, including the additions of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard, that were supposed to elevate the Hawks in the Eastern Conference.
After being limited in his availability last season for the Celtics due to illness, Porzingis has appeared in nine of the team’s 13 games this season at a little over 25 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 blocked shots with splits of 43 percent shooting from the field, 31.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 86.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Porzingis spent the last two seasons with the Celtics, winning a championship with the franchise in 2024. He began his career with the New York Knicks, and also has stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards.
