Atlanta Hawks: Splitter out at least four weeks, Millsap nears return
Recent updates circulating around the Atlanta Hawks brings both good and bad news for the team: Tiago Splitter will miss at least four weeks, while Paul Millsap is nearing his return.
After the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93 on Monday night in the league’s first ever “Unity Game,” the following days have brought both good and bad news for the Hawks. Bad news comes in the form of an injury for Hawks center-power forward Tiago Splitter, while reports that power forward Paul Millsap should be making his return in the near future brings good news for the team.
The Atlanta Hawks center-power forward Tiago Splitter will miss at least four weeks, as well as the start of the regular season, due to a strained right hamstring. This injury is more bad news for Splitter, who was coming back from season-ending hip surgery. According to reports, Splitter sustained the hamstring injury during a recent practice. He had an MRI on Monday, which confirmed a Grade 2 strain, constituting a minimum recovery time of four weeks. Splitter was expected to back up Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard and forward Paul Millsap. Now, his regular season return has been placed on hold with yet another setback.
On the other hand, good news for the Hawks comes in the form of the nearing return of All-Star power forward Paul Millsap. He took part in a full contact practice on Tuesday, which is a good indicator that he will be back in action before the start of the regular season on October 27. Millsap has been held out of much of training camp as a result of undergoing a non-surgical procedure on his right knee last month.
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According to reports, he was expected to miss the first three weeks of camp and at least the first two exhibition games. So far, he has missed three. Millsap missed Monday’s preseason matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Next, the Hawks will take on the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night in Atlanta.
VIA Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
"“I feel good,” Millsap told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after practice Tuesday. “I was able to get some contact in today. It felt good to get back out there with the fellas. Now, it’s just getting the reps and getting the conditioning up.”The undisclosed procedure was necessary after Millsap experience persistent swelling in his knee during voluntary workouts and 5-on-5 scrimmages. The Hawks brought him along slowly and Millsap first went through a 3-on-3 workout on Monday.“It’s been good,” Millsap said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen after today but every other day its felt great – running on the treadmill, getting some shots up, individual workouts. We’ll see what happens (Wednesday).”"
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Another injury for Splitter is unfortunate, but on the bright side, the Atlanta Hawks and fans can look forward to having Millsap back in the starting lineup in the near future. How near, exactly, appears to be day-to-day based on his progress.