Quin Snyder, the head coach of the Hawks, said that Okongwu will miss time.
Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu hurt his big left toe against the Chicago Bulls before the All-Star Break, and he missed the team’s following game against the Charlotte Hornets. After his first injury, the Hawks released the following update: Okongwu was diagnosed with a left big toe sprain following an MRI performed today at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex and an X-ray taken yesterday night at State Farm Arena. He will be reassessed in seven to ten days and marked as out for tomorrow’s game against Charlotte. Quin Snyder, the head coach of the Hawks, announced at practice today that Okongwu will be out for some time.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn as far as a timeline goes, but he’s not going to be available for the foreseeable future.” Quin Snyder, the Hawks’ coach, announced at practice today that Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain) will be out of the picture for some time. Clint Capela (left adductor strain) will return, he claimed, but since he has lost a few weeks, he probably won’t be able to play for as long. — Williams, Lauren L. (@WilliamsLaurenL) 22 February 2024 Obviously, it is significant news for the Hawks. Since replacing Clint Capela as the starting center due to an injury, Okongwu has performed incredibly well, and one might argue that he may be the starting center for the remainder of theseason prior to today’s news. With Okongwu and Capela out, the Hawks started Bruno Fernando in the game against Charlotte. Though it is only conjecture, Fernando may start tomorrow’s match and Capela might come off the bench.
This season, the Hawks have struggled to stay healthy. The top eight players in the rankings—Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Okongwu, Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and De’Andre Hunter—haven’t been healthy for too many games. Although Atlanta has many problems, the team’s performance this season has suffered by not having these players together for more games. A formal update on Okongwu from the Hawks should soon be available. Jackson may be followed on X at @jacksoncauell.