Vit Krejci and Larry Nance Both Out for Multiple Weeks In Recent Injury Update for Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks have been stricken by injuries throughout this season. Trae Young is dealing with right Achilles tendinitis while Jalen Johnson and Kobe Bufkin were both ruled out for the season with shoulder injuries. Larry Nance Jr missed multiple weeks with a hand injury and Clint Capela struggled to play due to back spasms earlier in the year. In short, the Hawks have definitely gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to injury luck.

That might become an even bigger problem after the most recent update from the Hawks' medical staff. Vit Krejci and Nance both left Monday's game against Orlando with injuries. While they were immediately ruled out for the remainder of those games and for tonight's game against the Knicks, it was unknown how long they would be out for.

Now, there is some clarity on that front, but it isn't a very encouraging update. Per the team, both Krejci and Nance will be sidelined for multiple weeks with a lower back contusion and right knee injury, respectively.

"Vit Krejci left Monday night’s game due to a lower back contusion. Further evaluation and imaging at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex confirmed a non-displaced lumbar fracture. He will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, and an update will be provided at that time.

Larry Nance Jr. left Monday night’s game with a right knee injury. Further evaluation and imaging at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex revealed a non-displaced fracture of his right medial femoral condyle. He will be re-evaluated in approximately six weeks, and an update will be provided at that time."

In terms of what this means for the Hawks in the short-term, it's potentially a big problem. Krejci has been a useful part of the rotation and stepped up as an occasional starter. He's having another excellent year as a shooter (38.7% on 3.4 attempts per game) and his absence places a bigger workload on Atlanta's already-limited shooting. He can fill in at either the shooting guard or small forward spots in case of an injury and it leaves Atlanta with one less option to bring in from the bench.

The additions of Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and Terence Mann will help make this less of a problem than it would have been earlier. Niang has the power forward spot mostly locked down while Risacher has done a good job of manning the small forward role. However, it places more pressure on everyone to stay healthy in a year where Atlanta's really struggled to do that.

In terms of what this means for Atlanta's center rotation, it places a lot of emphasis on keeping Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela healthy. Should both of those players go down, Mo Gueye is in line to start at center. While Gueye has flashed some potential, it would be a pretty big workload for him to assume. If he's being re-evaluated in six weeks, that gives Nance a good chance of returning to help Atlanta make a final push towards the playoffs.

In their last game, Atlanta's 54 points from their bench unit helped them hold off two 30+ point performances from Paolo Banchero (31) and Franz Wagner (37). Mann hit two big threes and LeVert had five points in the fourth quarter, powering the Hawks to 11 of their first 14 points in the clutch. Performances like that will be harder to come by if multiple good bench players are missing from the rotation.

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