Video: News and Notes From Hawks' Practice

Injury Updates

De'Andre Hunter worked out on Friday but did not practice, and his status for Sunday's game is yet to be decided. He suffered a dislocated finger on Monday in the closing minutes of Atlanta's win over the Warriors and did not play against Brooklyn on Wednesday. Pierce said the rookie's finger was still sore and that the team will have to see how it progresses in the coming days.

"Still sore, but I don't think there's any damage. You dislocate your finger, it's probably going to hurt for a couple of days."

Kevin Huerter, who just returned from a left shoulder sprain, will likely play 20-25 minutes against the Hornets. The guard played 15 minutes in his first game back from injury and Pierce says he plans on gradually increasing Huerter's minutes over the next few games until he no longer needs a restriction.

Allen Crabbe's status for the weekend also remains to be seen. Crabbe underwent a non-surgical procedure on his right knee Wednesday and is currently in a 48-hour "unloading period." The veteran had been an increasingly prominent part of Atlanta's rotation. He went through an individual workout on Friday but did not participate in the team's full-contact practice.

Balancing Huerter, Hunter, and Reddish

As the Hawks' slowly get healthy on the wing, Pierce could have some interesting rotational decisions to make. Huerter, Hunter, and Cam Reddish will all need minutes to develop, which could leave veterans like Crabbe, Vince Carter, and even Jabari Parker squeezed down in the rotation.

Huerter's return could also change Hunter's involvement in the offense. Just as having another playmaker beside him should open up Trae Young's game more, playing with a shooter and passer like Huerter could simplify Hunter's place in the Hawks' offense. It also gives Pierce more lineup combinations and unlocks possibilities for how he uses his young players.

"It just puts more pressure on me to try and play these guys together and figure out how to do so," Pierce said. "But there's no reason they all can't play together and there's no reason we can't implement something that allows them to play together."

One way of getting Huerter, Hunter, and Reddish on the floor together is by playing Hunter at power forward. But given the way Jabari Parker, Damian Jones, and Alex Len have played lately, Pierce wants to be careful about how often and against which matchups he plays smaller lineups.

"I think a lot of those things depend upon the matchups," he said. "How do you implement Jabari and make him effective? How do you say, 'This is probably not a good matchup because he's chasing guys on the perimeter'? And then at the end of the day, John will be back in two-and-a-half, three weeks, so that will limit any opportunity with De'Andre at the four."

He noted that Wednesday's game against Brooklyn would have been a good time to experiment with Hunter at power forward, but Huerter's minutes limit interfered with Pierce's lineup flexibility.

Where Does Cam Reddish Go From Here?

Reddish had the best game of his young career earlier this week, which Pierce attributed to the constant work the rookie has put in since the start of the season.

"If you go back, what you saw was Cam was in the gym working," Pierce said as Reddish put up jumpers with assistant coach Marlon Garnett. "The results will come. His confidence has been high. He's been doing what he's doing right now: putting in the work, continuing to work, staying confident.

"The one thing you have to do is stay putting in work, and the results will come."

Where Hunter's touches have been consistent and scripted, Reddish has had to work harder to find his place within Atlanta's offense. He doesn't know exactly where his shots might come from in a given game, which may have contributed to some of his confusion and poor judgment early in the year.

Pierce said he'll continue to mix up the ways in which Reddish gets the ball, but could make him more of a focal point as he becomes more trustworthy with the ball in his hands.

"I think De'Andre's [touches] are a little more defined," Pierce said. "Cam, we've got to put the ball in his hands. ... I think there's more versatility to Cam's game, we just haven't seen the results we would like to see. We saw a major glimpse of that the other night, though."