John Collins is seeking a second opinion on his right ring finger sprain and right foot strain, Hawks coach Nate McMillan said Thursday at practice.
Collins missed seven games from Feb. 13 to March 3 with his foot injury, then tried to play through the pain but didn’t look like his normal self. He sprained his right ring finger during the third quarter of the Hawks’ loss in Detroit on March 7 and was evaluated after the game, with X-rays showing no fractures, though the finger has swelled.
He played two more games after that, in the loss to the Bucks on March 9 and win vs. the Clippers on March 11, but has sat out the past three games.
“John is just basically getting checked out,” McMillan said. “He wants to get a second opinion on his foot and his finger, and we hope that we get some good news there.”
The Hawks have 13 regular-season games left and as of Thursday afternoon are No. 10 in the Eastern Conference standings, the final play-in tournament spot, after Wednesday’s loss in Charlotte. When asked if Collins could miss extended time, McMillan wasn’t sure.
“We really don’t know,” McMillan said. “He’s going to get checked out and get more information for himself as well as for the organization, and we’ll see what happens when we get that information.”
Also on the injury front, Danilo Gallinari and Trae Young did not practice Thursday but received treatment. Gallinari did not play the second half Wednesday after suffering a right biceps contusion in the first half, and though Young suffered a left knee contusion/left quad contusion that night, he played through it, mentioning after the game he was experiencing some soreness.
Gallinari likely will be a game-time decision for Friday’s home game vs. Memphis, per McMillan. If the Hawks don’t have Collins or Gallinari, they would be down both their starting and backup power forwards.
“Gallo is getting treatment, and we’re going to see how he feels tomorrow morning,” McMillan said. “... Trae, treatment as well. These guys, mainly it was a maintenance day for really the entire team to get some treatment, get some shots and get themselves mentally and physically ready to go tomorrow.”
