The Hawks listed John Collins as “probable” with “left knee tendon pain” for Wednesday’s exhbition game against the Orlando Magic, but the power forward is still in the projected starting lineup.
Collins was previously listed with a "right hip strain," which the team announced Sept. 27 before training camp began. He was asked about that after Monday's loss to the Pelicans and said he was feeling great, so this left knee issue is a new development.
By his standards, Collins had a quieter game Monday, with 13 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. Coach Lloyd Pierce had said before the game he didn’t want to play anyone more than 25 minutes, which is a pretty standard move so as to not overload players in the preseason.
Other Hawks injuries: Brandon Goodwin (right hip contusion) has been upgraded to “probable.” With Goodwin ruled out Monday, we saw DeAndre’ Bembry as backup point guard behind Trae Young. With the ball in his hands more, Bembry led the team in scoring with 16 points, to go with three assists, two steals and three rebounds.
Allen Crabbe, who is recovering from right knee arthroscopy surgery, is out, as is Chandler Parsons (knees) and Evan Turner (left Achilles pain).
Kevin Huerter (left knee pain, nothing structural) isn’t listed in Wednesday’s injury report, but he wasn’t listed in Monday’s and did not play, with Pierce saying Huerter still needed a longer day of practice before game activity.
The Hawks’ projected starting lineup is the same as Monday, with Collins in there as well as Trae Young, De’Andre Hunter, Damian Jones and Bembry.
