Hawks' De'Andre Hunter Out for Entire NBA Playoff Series vs. Sixers

Lately, the Philadelphia 76ers haven't been fully healthy. Although none of their players have missed any games since the second-round series against the Atlanta Hawks started, All-Star center Joel Embiid has been battling a setback. 

Two weeks ago, in the first-round series against the Washington Wizards, Embiid went down with a suspected knee injury. After being ruled out for the rest of Game 4 against the Wizards, Embiid's MRI the following day revealed a small meniscus tear in his knee, which forced him to miss the next matchup before returning for Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks, which took place this past Sunday.

Embiid isn't the only key player in the series that's been battling a knee injury. On the other side, Atlanta Hawks small forward De'Andre Hunter has also been dealing with an injury, except for unlike Embiid, Hunter hasn't been available.

Listed as questionable going into Game 1 on Sunday, Hunter went through pregame warmups to see how he felt. Shortly after, the Hawks ruled him out for the afternoon matchup. Fortunately for Atlanta, they managed to squeak out of Sunday's game with a victory without Hunter in the lineup.

As Game 2 approached on Tuesday, Hunter and the Hawks were in the same position. After testing his knee during warmups, Hunter was once again downgraded from questionable to out. To add insult to injury, the Hawks also took on a 16-point loss to the Sixers in Game 2 on the road.

With hopes of getting Hunter back in the mix soon, the Hawks received bad news on Wednesday afternoon. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Hunter was diagnosed with a small meniscus tear in his knee. Unlike Embiid, Hunter's knee will require surgery.

Therefore, the Hawks officially shut Hunter down for the remainder of the season on Wednesday. The young forward finished his first playoff run with five games played, averaging 10 points per game in roughly 30 minutes of action in the first-round series win over the New York Knicks.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.