The Atlanta Hawks will be without their big man in the middle for the next few weeks. Center Clint Capela has been diagnosed with a right calf strain suffered in last night’s 135-124 loss to surging Southeast division rival, the Orlando Magic. As reported on the Atlanta Hawks’ official Twitter account, the former Houston Rocket had an MRI on Thursday, which revealed the ailment.
An @emoryhealthcare injury update:
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 15, 2022
Clint Capela sustained a right calf injury during last night?s game and underwent an MRI today, which revealed a right calf strain.
Capela is expected to miss approximately 1-2 weeks, and his return to play will be updated as appropriate. pic.twitter.com/nvGH9pCF8I
Capela had to leave late in last night’s contest after playing 22 minutes in the loss. The near seven-footer logged a very efficient 16 points on 80 percent shooting from the floor. Capela also added six rebounds and was a minus-six on the evening.
Efficient scoring, rebounding, and a defensive presence in the middle is what Atlanta will really miss over the next couple of weeks. Capela leads the team in both rebounds per game (12.0) and field goal percentage (63.3) while second on the Hawks with 1.3 blocks a night.
Onyeka Okongwu will slide into the starting lineup to replace Capela in the meantime and should be picked up in all formats. The 2020 sixth-overall pick is averaging 8.1 points on 63 percent shooting while pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game in just 21 minutes a night. Those numbers should get a big boost for a banged-up Hawks team.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Hawks tied with the Miami Heat atop the Southeast Division futures board with -110 odds.
