Atlanta Hawks Release Injury Report Ahead of Key Matchup Against Memphis On Wednesday

The Hawks are looking to snap their four game losing streak tomorrow night when they face the Grizzlies

Dec 31, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis (8) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and they are looking to snap the streak tomorrow night when the face the Memphis Grizzlies on the road. The Hawks are going to be a banged up team heading into this matchup as evidenced by the injury report that was just released.

Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis) and Zaccharie Risacher (left knee, bone contusion) are both out. The Hawks provided this update on both Porzingis and Risacher yesterday:

"Center Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the last five games due to left Achilles tendinitis, is progressing in his recovery and will be re-evaluated in approximately one week. Forward Zaccharie Risacher, who has missed the last five games due to a left knee bone contusion, is progressing in his recovery and will be re-evaluated in approximately one week."

With Risacher out, Quin Snyder had been putting Vit Krejci into the starting lineup, but changed that on Monday when he put Corey Kispert into the starting lineup. It will be something to watch tomorrow.

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

N’Faly Dante (right knee, torn ACL): Out
Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis): Out
Zaccharie Risacher (left knee, bone contusion): Out pic.twitter.com/v3mF8J2Mvo

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 20, 2026

New addition not fitting in

Jan 17, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) in action against the Boston Celtics in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It has not been an easy first week for CJ McCollum in Atlanta .

When the Atlanta Hawks made the trade to send Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, there was hope that McCollum would be able to fit in with the offense and give the Hawks plenty of scoring ability while also giving them another ball handler. Nobody thought he was going to be as good as Young on that end of the floor, but the hope was that he would give them a lift and help make them playoff contenders.

It is still early, but the CJ McCollum experience has not been great for the Hawks.

The counting stats don't paint a terrible picture for the five games that McCollum has played. He is averaging 17.0 PPG, 3.6 APG, and 2.8 RPG while shooting 40% from the field and 18% from three. While the three-point percentage is certainly worrisome, McCollum was having a great three-point shooting season in Washington, and you would assume he would bounce back. Both of those shooting percentages would be career worsts if applied to over a full season.

But when you watch how McCollum fits with the team, it has not been smooth.

Why is it not working right now?

There is still time to figure things out and midseason acquisitions are tough to fit in, but why has McCollum not been able to work.

I think his usage rate is concerning to me. When the Hawks traded Young, they already had a guy who could play with the ball in his hands, Jalen Johnson. Johnson is having an All-Star caliber season and is 6th in the NBA in assists per game. McCollum has come in and led the Hawks in usage rate, which I don't think is going to be a successful formula for the Hawks.

Per Cleaning the Glass, McCollum has a 31.7% usage rate over the last five games, has a 21.7% AST% (23rd percentile) and 0.69 AST: Usg (2nd percentile). The Hawks offense has not been as effective when McCollum has such a high usage rate and that was evidenced by the final possession in yesterday's game vs Milwaukee.

It is just five games, but Quin Snyder has got to find a way to better implement McCollum so his skills on the offensive end can actually benefit the Hawks. Now, the Hawks are playing without Zaccharie Risacher and Kristaps Porzingis, but it is more about the style of play than anything. I think the three point shot should reverse course and improve, but if the Hawks can't figure out how to better use him on this team, they may slip out of the play-in tournament all together.