{"id":170441,"date":"2025-12-21T14:49:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=170441"},"modified":"2025-12-21T14:49:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:49:59","slug":"depth-concerns-arise-for-the-atlanta-hawks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/12\/21\/depth-concerns-arise-for-the-atlanta-hawks\/","title":{"rendered":"Depth Concerns Arise for the Atlanta Hawks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The injury bug has come back to bite the Atlanta Hawks once again through the first 29 games of this season. Trae Young<\/a> only played in six contests due to a sprained MCL on Oct. 29. Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is<\/a>\u00a0appeared in 13 contests before Atlanta announced its star center would miss two weeks due to an illness that keeps popping up. Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said<\/a>, “We’re super confident in Kristaps’ health,” before the season started<\/a>, but that has not been the case. To make matters worse, on the morning of Dec. 21, Atlanta found out it lost its second frontcourt depth piece for the rest of the campaign.<\/p>\n

Depth Concerns Arise for the Atlanta Hawks<\/h2>\n

Atlanta signed forwards Jacob Toppin<\/a> and Eli Ndiaye<\/a> to two-way deals before training camp started in late September. As expected, they spent the overwhelming majority of their time with the College Park Skyhawks. However, both players suffered shoulder injuries that will keep them out of the rest of the campaign.<\/p>\n

Hawks Lose Jacob Toppin for 2025-26 Campaign<\/h3>\n

The Hawks announced Toppin suffered a torn labrum<\/a> in his right shoulder in a game on Nov. 29. He went up for a shot in the paint and fought through a slapdown to get it off.<\/p>\n

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Jacob Toppin just went straight to the locker room after asking out of the game.<\/p>\n

Attempted a shot while playing through a slapdown and was holding his right arm still as he left. pic.twitter.com\/PmGF2BhwXR<\/a><\/p>\n

— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) November 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n