The Atlanta Hawks are dealing with a key injury concern as they prepare for Game 2 against the New York Knicks.
Atlanta trails the first-round series 1-0 after a 113-102 Game 1 loss at Madison Square Garden and is looking to respond quickly before the series shifts to Atlanta, starting on Thursday.
The Hawks' frontcourt situation was already a key storyline heading into the matchup with the Knicks, but now it has become an even bigger story ahead of Monday’s game.
Atlanta has officially listed big man Onyeka Okongwu as "questionable" for Game 2 with right knee inflammation, putting his availability in peril.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images
The injury appears to have been picked up during Game 1, where Okongwu still managed to play through it.
Okongwu finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, providing one of Atlanta’s most productive performances in the opener.
The center logged 37 minutes, the third-most among Hawks players, and played a central role on both ends of the floor while also stretching the floor and finishing 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
The uncertainty around his availability will only add stress and pressure to an already thin rotation in the Hawks' frontcourt.
Atlanta is already without center Jock Landale due to an ankle injury, and Okongwu's absence would remove the only other bona fide big man from the Hawks' roster early in the first-round matchup.
If Okongwu is unable to play, Mouhamed Gueye and Tony Bradley are expected to see increased roles, although neither of them has the talent of an average NBA starter.
Bradley sat out Game 1 while Gueye logged 11 minutes off the bench, scoring three points and grabbing three rebounds.
Game 2 is set for Monday at 8 p.m. ET in New York before the series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Thursday.
