The Hawks will put their 5-0 record on the line Friday in Minnesota with no true small forward available to play.
Starter Marvin Williams suffered a right knee injury Wednesday and was ruled out. Mo Evans (knee) will miss his fourth consecutive game.
That's the complete list of Hawks small forwards.
“It puts us in a little bit of a dilemma,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said Thursday.
Williams was hurt during a collision in the fourth quarter of the Hawks' 94-85 victory against Detroit. He limped into the locker room Thursday but said he hoped to return soon.
“I’m doing OK,” he said. “Still the same as last night. It’s really sore. I’m getting treatment the next couple days and hopefully shoot for Sunday [against Phoenix]. I’m young. I always heal fast.”
An MRI on Thursday showed that Williams has a bone bruise and is day-to-day, the Hawks said.
The team also could be without guard Jamal Crawford, who missed the Pistons game after suffering a toe injury Tuesday at Cleveland. Crawford said Thursday the injury hadn't improved much.
“It’s day-to-day,” he said. “It depends on how it feels when I wake up [Friday]."
The Hawks are deep at guard, but with Williams and Evans out, Drew said he would "have to move some pieces around" to fill in at small forward.
Most likely, reserve 6-foot-11 center Zaza Pachulia will move into the starting lineup, with Al Horford moving to power forward and Josh Smith to small forward. Drew said he favors that lineup because Minnesota's starting frontcourt features Michael Beasley (6-10), Kevin Love (6-10) and Darko Milicic (7-0).
Drew also could start Crawford at shooting guard with Joe Johnson at small forward, an alignment he has used at the end of games. But Drew said he likes the scoring punch that Crawford provides off the bench.
“If I don’t have to disrupt that, I don’t want to," he said.
No matter which starting lineup Drew chooses, he will be playing Smith or either guard at small forward. The Hawks would catch a break if Beasley (hip) can't play.
The Hawks were remarkably fortunate with injuries last season, when their players missed the fewest games in the NBA by far, but haven't been as lucky this season.
"It's better now than later [in the season]," Smith said. "We've got to focus on who we've got here playing. We'll see what we are made of when one of our guys goes down."
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
