The Atlanta Hawks will be without their prized offseason acquisition for at least the next two weeks. Dejounte Murray is out after suffering a left ankle sprain in last night’s blowout loss to the New York Knicks. Senior lead NBA Insider for The Athletic, Shams Charania, broke the bad news for an already banged-up Hawks squad this afternoon.
Hawks All-Star Dejounte Murray is expected to miss two weeks with a left ankle sprain, sources tell me and @sam_amick. Atlanta now has Murray, John Collins (ankle) and De'Andre Hunter (hip) sidelined.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 8, 2022
Murray played just four minutes in New York on Wednesday before leaving with the sprained ankle early in the first quarter. The former San Antonio Spur scored just two points, but even if he had dropped 30, it probably wouldn’t matter in another lifeless effort by the Hawks. Atlanta fell behind the Knicks by 11 in the opening frame and never recovered on their way to a 113-89 beatdown.
The Hawks now find themselves as a skeleton starting unit with many main contributors on the shelf. Along with John Collins and De’Andre Hunter, Atlanta is down three starters, including Murray.
The former Washington Husky has seen his offensive numbers drop a bit this year, playing second option to Trae Young. Still, Murray has been very solid, averaging 20.8 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game.
FanDuel Sportsbook has Atlanta as the favorite to win the weak Southeast Division, where the Hawks sit at -115.
