Hawks second-year wing Cam Reddish, who hasn’t played since Feb. 21 with right Achilles soreness, will miss at least another 10-14 days, according to the team.
That may end up ruling him out for the Hawks’ first-round playoff series vs. the Knicks, which could run from May 23-June 6, if it goes to seven games.
The team announced Thursday that Reddish’s rehab had progressed to include “unrestricted individual workouts and limited participation in team practice,” which is a step in the right direction. As of Wednesday, per interim coach Nate McMillan, Reddish was running and shooting at practice, but McMillan hadn’t been told when he’d be able to participate with the team yet.
Keep in mind, Reddish would have to progress to practicing with contact before returning to any kind of game situation.
Even if Reddish were cleared to play while the Hawks’ playoff run is still going on, it may be difficult for him to immediately start back up in intense playoff games after such a long layoff.
On Thursday, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said the plan is for Reddish to participate in Summer League, which will take place Aug. 7-18 in Las Vegas, to get more reps.
“The big thing for Cam right now is to get back on the court right now and playing,” Schlenk said. “I think that’s a big part of it is just playing basketball. He’s super eager right now. He’s able to get in some just shooting drills with the guys, but he’s still not up to full-speed running yet. But we’ve spoken with him. The plan is for him to participate on our Summer League team this year just so he can get those reps, to get him a little head start when we get to camp next year.
“But the biggest thing, and I sound like a broken record, is he just needs to slow down. Right now, everything is just moving too fast for him. He gets in too big of a rush. Just once the game slows down for him, especially on the offensive end, we’ve seen what he can do on the defensive end. But it’s really just about getting experience. I think we all see the potential, see the flashes. But we all have to remember, he’s 21 years old. So it’s really just getting him reps.”
