Injuries Hamper Atlanta Hawks Practice

Fans saw improved performance and increased effort in the Hawks second preseason game. Unfortunately, the short-handed roster dropped the game to a young Cavaliers team. At today's practice, we learned that injuries remain a persistent issue with the roster.

The tweet below lists all of the players who did not participate in practice today:

No Trae Young, Delon Wright, Kevin Huerter, or De’Andre Hunter in practice today (beyond just warming up).

McMillan said Clint Capela hasn’t done live work this preseason, so he’s skeptical that CC will be ready for final preseason game.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) October 8, 2021

Clint Capela returning for preseason games seems more doubtful with each passing day. Additionally, I expect the Hawks to be extra safe with Trae Young's quad contusion, so we may not see him in action until Opening Night on October 21 against the Dallas Mavericks.

Kevin Huerter and De'Andre Hunter both got their first live-action in a game since the playoffs last summer. Hunter is reportedly dealing with some soreness.

Lastly, Delon Wright exited the Cavs game early with a 'tweaked ankle.' Despite it being a minor injury, the team will be careful with their backup point guard. That could mean more playing time for Sharife Cooper, who looked good in his limited minutes filling in for Wright.

Coach McMillan expressed his desire to get the guys back and healthy to Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"I'm praying that our guys will be healthy and we can get them on the floor, because they need to work together."

I asked Nate McMillan about the Hawks' third preseason game, and he said he's hoping they can get minutes to as many of their normal rotation guys as possible.
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) October 8, 2021

Injuries remain a hindrance in what the Hawks hope to achieve on the court. Getting the team healthy and in shape is vital to a successful start to the regular season. The team should provide more official injury updates soon.

The Hawks take off for Memphis later today to play Ja Morant and the Grizzlies tomorrow night. Keep it locked in to AllHawks.com as we continue to provide breaking news and analysis for your Atlanta Hawks.

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