John Collins Injury Update: Hawks big man will get second opinion on injured finger, foot

John Collins has played in four games since Feb. 11, and it is not clear when the Atlanta Hawks’ big man will play in another. Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said Thursday that Collins gets a second opinion about his dead right right index finger and his strained right foot. Atlanta Journal Constitutionof Sarah K. Spencer.

“John is just basically being examined,” McMillan said. “He wants to get a second opinion on his foot and his finger, and we hope we get some good news there.”

McMillan said the Hawks “really do not know” whether Collins will be out for a long time.

Collins returned to the lineup on March 4 after missing three weeks with a foot injury. In the next game from Atlanta, on March 7, he injured his finger. X-rays showed no fractures, so he played in the next two games for the Hawks, but shot a combined 3-for-17 (and 0-for-8 from 3-point range), clearly not like his normal Self.

On Saturday, Collins said that “it’s obviously hard to play basketball” with his swollen and stiff finger, and his other injury “prevented me from putting more pressure on my foot”, according to The Athletic Chris Kirschner. He added that he would like to help his teammates, “but, at this point, am I hurting or helping?”

Atlanta has been hugely underachieved relative to expectations; with 34-35, the team ranks 10th in the East and occupies the last place in the play-in. When the Hawks won seven games right in mid to late January, it looked as if they were turning the season around in the same way as last year. This has not happened, and, with Collins either out or severely limited, it’s hard to imagine that everything will fall into place in the postseason should the Hawks manage to earn one of the last two spots. As bumbled as they were to officially close to him, Collins finger and foot need time to heal. What is the disadvantage of playing for him?