Atlanta Hawks Latest Injury Report Will Put Their Center Rotation In The Spotlight Again in Game 5

A crucial game five between the Hawks and the Knicks is nearly 24 hours away, and the winner is going to take a 3-2 series lead back to Atlanta. The Hawks missed a chance to go up 3-1 in the series on Saturday, but they are hoping to bounce back and get a win and then an opportunity to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

A good thing about this series is that the injury reports have been pretty clean for both teams, with one exception. Atlanta has missed backup center Jock Landale for nearly a month now and he remains the only player on the injury report for the Hawks tomorrow.

An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tomorrow’s game at New York:

Jock Landale (right high ankle sprain): Out pic.twitter.com/tMUW4jsyNd
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 27, 2026

What does this injury mean?

One of the biggest questions coming into this series was how the Hawks would deal with the center duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. Robinson has been solid, but not the game wrecker some thought coming into the series, but the best player in the series so far has been Towns. He is averaging 21.0 PPG and 10.8 RPG on 57% shooting from the floor, including a triple-double in game four. I thought Towns was going to be the biggest problem for Atlanta in this series and that has been what has happened.

With Landale out, the Hawks have turned to Mouhamed Gueye (someone the Hawks don't even view as a true center) and in brief minutes, Tony Bradley, who was signed shortly after Landale was injured in a win over the Orlando Magic. Gueye had some solid moments earlier in the series when guarding Towns, but game four was a real struggle for him. He does not have the size and strength to deal with really big and physical centers like Towns and Robinson and that showed in the last game.

Could Bradley be in line to see more minutes? I think that is a possibility in tomorrow's game, but far from certain. Bradley's size and rebounding ability would make him a more natural fit to guard Towns and Robinson, but he also has flaws and there is a reason that the Hawks have not been eager to use him more. Bradley has been a pretty poor offensive player so far when he is on the court and the Knicks are not going to be afraid of him.

The Hawks center rotation has been in the spotlight since the series began and tomorrow night in a big matchup that is going to have the attention of everyone that watches the NBA. Can they find a way to make a positive impact?

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