When it rains, it pours on the Atlanta Hawks. In addition to their issues with star forward Josh Smith, Atlanta has lost seven of their last ten games to fall to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Saturday brought more bad news for Atlanta.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Lou Williams, the team’s third leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, is out for the season with a torn ACL. The ex-Sixers guard reportedly suffered the injury during Friday’s game against the Nets.
“You lose that, it’s kind of hard to replace,” Hawks guard DeShawn Stevenson said to the AJC. “I don’t think you just go out and find someone who can give you 16 points off the bench any time. I think guys have to play within themselves. Things like this happen. It sucks but guys have to be ready to step up and try to fill his shoes.”
Look for Atlanta to increase rookie guard John Jenkins’ minutes with Williams out. With Atlanta looking like they’re in free-fall mode after a hot start to the season, pay attention to the Hawks as we approach the NBA’s trade deadline. They have plenty of expiring contracts (Josh Smith, Devin Harris), and they could end up being a major player in what figures to be an active trade market.