What Does Latest Jock Landale Injury News Mean for Atlanta Ahead of Series vs Knicks?

Jock Landale has been sidelined for two week after injuring his ankle against the Orlando Magic and he is going to be unavailable to start the series vs the Knicks

Apr 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Jock Landale (31) reacts after a three point basket against the Orlando Magic in the third quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks first round series against the Knicks begins this Saturday and one of the biggest questions surrounding this series was going to be the status of Jock Landale, the Hawks backup center. Landale was injured in a game against the Orlando Magic two weeks ago and was set to be reevaluated this week. The reevaluation has happened and unfortunately for Atlanta, Landale is going to be out for another couple of weeks.

Here is the update Atlanta gave today regarding Landale and his status:

"Center Jock Landale, who sustained a high right ankle sprain on April 1 at Orlando, is progressing in his rehabilitation. He will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks, and an update will be provided at that time."

An @emoryhealthcare injury update:

Jock Landale, who sustained a high right ankle sprain on April 1 at Orlando, is progressing in his rehabilitation. He will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks and an update will be provided at that time. pic.twitter.com/lebuJju909

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 16, 2026

If Landale were to be cleared two weeks from today, he might be able to return towards the end of the series, if it goes beyond four or five games.

What does this mean?

This is big news for the Hawks. While Landale is not a star player, he is very important to their depth and without him, there are some big questions for the Hawks behind Onyeka Okongwu.

The Hawks have been dealing with backup center issues going back to the beginning of the season and after they traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors, they made the move to get Landale to have a reliable option behind Okongwu who could give the Hawks some size and rebounding, which he did.

Since Landale has been injured, the Hawks have mostly relied upon Mo Gueye as the backup center, but there are some problems that could arise with him as the backup center against the Knicks. The Hawks also don't view Gueye as a backup center.

The big question for Atlanta is how they are going to handle the big man combination of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. Robinson in particular was a big problem when the two teams last met a week and Robinson is going to have a big advantgage on Gueye. That is why the Hawks might go with another option.

Atlanta signed Tony Bradley a few days after the Landale and while he has not played much for Atlanta since signing, he is a big body that the Hawks can throw at Robinson and Towns in a game and help the Hawks on the glass and in the paint.

This is a bigger blow to the Hawks than one might imagine, but they can still win this series if they can find a way to manage the minutes when Okongwu is not on the floor.