Atlanta Hawks Center Clint Capela is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after a hand injury.
The team revealed that Capela has a ligament injury in the fourth metacarpal of his left hand. He will be evaluated again within three to four weeks before a timetable has been established.
Capela has been off the bank since mid-January and has only been playing for 17 minutes per match since the break of All-Star. In those 10 games he has an average of 6.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.
Onyeka Okongwu fulfilled him as the starting center and has an average of 14.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and a block. He has had 28 games in the role and plays 30 minutes per game.
The Hawks are seventh in the east with a record of 33-36, 1.5 games for the Orlando Magic in eighth place.
The next match of Atlanta is against a Golden State Warriors team that will be without StepH Curry.
Who comes in for Capela?
In addition to Capela, Larry Nance is Jr. Not available with a break in his knee. He was planned to miss at least six weeks on 12 February.
Mouhaed Gueye has seen an increase in playing time at Power Forward, but the next one as a big one is Dominick Barlow.
Barlow has an average of almost 17 minutes per match in March and has placed 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
The new direction of Hawks that take shape
Trading De’andre Hunter opened the playing time before 2024 NBA Draft top selection Zaccharie Risacher, not to mention the injury to Jalen Johnson.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was also traded for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland.
The future core seems to take shape in the form of Johnson, Risacher, Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu. Trae Young is the best player in the team, but teams can circle around the Hawks to pry him this summer.
Is that something that would really be open to the Hawks for exploring? The team owes the San Antonio Spurs between a rock and a hard place with the first round of this year. Next year’s choice also runs the risk of a swap with San Antonio.
