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The Atlanta Hawks are in the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and it remains to be seen whether they will have power forward John Collins available at any point of the postseason as he recovers from a pair of injuries. He is dealing with a sprained foot and sprained finger.
Collins is in his fifth season as a professional, all of which were with the Hawks. He ranks second on the team in points (16.2) and rebounds (7.8) per game but has not taken the floor since March 11th. He had missed six games in a row prior to then with the same injuries.
John Collins injury updates
April 17: Collins will play in Game 1 against the Heat, giving the Hawks a nice boost on the interior with Clint Capela being out. Collins will be rusty but Atlanta should hold up better than if he wasn’t able to go.
Atlanta's John Collins will play in Game 1 vs. Heat today, barring issues in warmups, sources said. Gut-it-out return for the Hawks, who are without Clint Capela. https://t.co/ZMpGsL0tUN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 17, 2022
April 16: Collins is listed as questionable for Game 1 against the Heat and will attempt to play, according to multiple reports. With Clint Capela going down, Collins returning would be a big boost for the Hawks.
Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins – out since March 11 due to foot and finger injuries – will attempt to play in Game 1 of series vs. Miami on Sunday, sources tell me and @ChrisKirschner. He has been upgraded to questionable.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 16, 2022
April 12: The Hawks have officially ruled Collins out for the play-in game against the Hornets, which means Clint Capela, Onyeka Okungwu and Danilo Gallinari will be the primary frontcourt players for the Hawks against the Hornets.
April 12: Head coach Nate McMillan was non-committal when asked about Collins playing in Wednesday’s game against the Hornets. The Athletic Hawks writer Chris Kirschner notes Collins’ finger is still wrapped, making it unlikely for him to be available for the play-in game.
John still has his finger wrapped up, fyi
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) April 12, 2022
Later in the regular season, Atlanta head coach Nate McMillan said there is no timetable for Collins’ return, though he had returned for full-court running and shooting during practice. Collins is obviously a major part of this team, and it could depend on if the Hawks advance out of the play-in tournament. If they do, he would certainly be a key addition to the roster as they look to cause chaos in the Eastern Conference.