Hawks vs Pistons: Injury Report for Tomorrow's Game

The Hawks have released their injury report for tomorrow's game

Jackson Caudell | Feb 22, 2025

Feb 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots from the outside over Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

After taking a loss to the Orlando Magic on Thursday, the Hawks will face the Detroit Pistons tomorrow night in hopes of getting back in the win column and avoiding losing the season series to the Pistons. Ahead of the game tomorrow, the Hawks have released their injury report.

Trae Young (right Achilles tendinitis) is probable tomorrow night and both Vit Krejci and Larry Nance Jr remain out.

An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tomorrow’s game vs. Detroit:

Trae Young (right Achilles tendinitis): Probable

Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder surgery): Out
Jalen Johnson (left shoulder surgery): Out
Vit Krejci (lumbar fracture): Out
Larry Nance Jr. (right medial femoral… pic.twitter.com/nDLyQgPKLl
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 22, 2025

Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs announced that superstar Victor Wembanyma was going to be out for the rest of this season. With the NBA season starting back up right after the All-Star break, Wembanyama felt like a lock to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award for the first time in his career, but now he won't be able to due to having missed too many games and not hitting the 65-game threshold needed to win the major awards. With him being out for the rest of the year, that now will swing open the doors for other players to try and win the award.

Could Hawks guard Dyson Daniels be one of those players? It is certainly possible and when discussing candidates who could win the award, CBS Sports analyst Sam Quin named Daniels, while also acknowledging that he faces a major uphill battle:

"Sitting in third place on the board right now is Dyson Daniels at +450. His candidacy faces a number of serious problems at the moment, though. He plays for the No. 15 defense in the NBA, for example, and things only figure to get harder for the Hawks without Jalen Johnson down the stretch. Daniels still leads the league in deflections and steals, but the gaps aren't as enormous as they once were. And while Atlanta's status as a Play-In team is probably safe, the Hawks are also below .500 at 26-29."

I agree with what he has to say here. The Hawks would have to go on a serious run and make the top six of the Eastern Conference if Daniels wanted any chance to possibly win the award. Our own Rohan Raman broke down Daniels case:

"First, it's important to acknowledge that no guard has won the award since Marcus Smart did it with the Celtics back in the 2021-22 season. Smart had a compelling case for the award for three reasons. There wasn't a big man who produced a ton of obviously highlight-worthy plays on defense. Jackson Jr. and Rudy Gobert, who has racked up four DPOY nods from being the hub of a defensive system during his time with the Jazz and Timberwolves, produced their usual numbers and voters grew accustomed to their impact. Smart was also part of one of the best teams in basketball - the 2021-22 Celtics made a Finals run largely based on how excellent their defense was. While Smart was probably the best perimeter defender in basketball, he also benefitted from having a good defensive system around him and getting tons of attention due to his team's success.

From a talent perspective, I'd argue Daniels has been a better defender in the 2024-25 season then Smart was during the 2021-22 season. Last season, the Hawks had the fourth-worst defensive rating in the NBA. Jalen Johnson and DeAndre Hunter obviously played a significant role in that, but the Hawks have been a top-15 defense by team defensive rating since Johnson's season-ending injury on January 29th. The sample size is too small to determine what the effect of losing Hunter will be, but the Hawks have managed to stay league-average despite losing one of their best defenders because of how Daniels generates extra possessions for the offense. Daniels doesn't play with a bevy of talented perimeter defenders around him nor does he have a dominant rim-protecting big behind him for support.

Now, the overall defensive impact numbers are going to favor big men like Jackson Jr. and Mobley. Rim protection is going to be more valued in the advanced metrics and the on-off swings aren't as big for Daniels than they are for either of the aforementioned players. However, there are two key factors that could potentially help Daniels' case.

First, the Hawks have to continue playing well on defense and make a run to the postseason. If Atlanta's defense can go from a middling unit to top-10, there is a legitimate case for Daniels to get the award as the best defender on a good defense. It simply isn't possible for the Hawks to be a top-five unit on that end of the ball, but strong play from Terence Mann and Caris LeVert on defense could give Daniels the help he needs to boost the unit. Onyeka Okongwu's rim protection also needs to get better. His lack of size against true seven-footers is still a problem and he doesn't have the strength to hold his own. That could come with time in the starting center role, but it probably won't change in time for it to matter for this season.

Secondly, Daniels has to keep generating turnovers at his current rate. There's a good chance that it isn't a sustainable mark, especially as the last two months of the season approach. He also needs to have signature games that sway voters. For example, if Daniels can shut down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (easier said than done) in Atlanta's game versus the Thunder on Feb. 28, voters will factor that game significantly into their decision. Voting takes place between April 16-19, so Daniels has two months to make his case.

Even assuming that both of those things happen, Daniels still has a lot of factors working against him. However,, the fact that his play as an individual defender has merited this discussion makes him a virtual lock for the All-Defensive First Team this year. He'll be critical to Atlanta's chances of securing a playoff berth over the last part of the regular season."

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