Hawks struggling with injuries, defense and 4th Q woes

[jayu70]

And the hits keep coming. Time for Jakwn Johnson to get some minutes.

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[jayu70]

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He said his foot is “definitely more dull than what I’m used to,” but the pain is more manageable because life as a basketball player always includes battling some lower-body soreness. Collins said he received a PRP injection in his foot to speed up the recovery process. The benefits of a PRP injection are sometimes not seen for weeks or months, if it works at all, but taking the shot comes with minimal risk, so that’s why NBA training staffs usually start with that therapy to improve the healing process.

The finger is what’s bothering Collins most now. He said he can’t put much pressure on his right ring finger and isn’t supposed to bend it at all because he tore the ligament that helps the finger bend at the knuckle.

“I’m supposed to have a splint on it at all times and keep my hand as straight as possible,” Collins said. “That’s the dilemma I have, because how are you supposed to play basketball with a straight finger? You can’t. If this was my left hand, it wouldn’t be an issue. Last season, I really screwed up my (middle) finger on my left hand. I didn’t say much because I could play through it. But this is my right hand, my shooting hand, the hand I use to grab rebounds — I do everything with this hand. It changes how I think, not necessarily how I play, but I just have to be more cautious with my finger.

“It changes how I fall, because I don’t want to put pressure on my finger. Gripping the rim on dunks is a challenge. I can’t do too much, but I feel like I can do enough to be helpful. It’s hard to get my touch on certain shots to get that instinctual feel because something is there that normally isn’t there. I’m trying to play through something I’m not used to playing with, and I have to do it at the highest level of basketball. It’s tough, and I’m trying to figure it out.”

When Clint Capela went down with his knee injury in the Cleveland game and it became apparent he was going to potentially miss all of the Miami series, there was no doubt in Collins’ mind that he needed to try stepping up, even with his own limitations. The original plan was to hopefully come back in the middle of the series to allow for extra healing, but Collins wanted to be out there immediately.

He thought about Kobe Bryant, his favorite player growing up, and how he played through his own finger injury during the 2009-10 season

[Jamaaliver]

Same issue from 2 seasons ago...figured I'd use the same thread to talk about 'em.

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