The Atlanta Hawks are in a tough spot Saturday night.
Not only are they playing the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
They’re also without three usual starts.
Jalen Johnson is out.
Zaccharie Risacher is out.
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And maybe most notably, Kristaps Porzingis is out.
It’s the second consecutive night that both Porzingis and Risacher are sitting out.
Why isn’t Kristaps Porzingis playing tonight?
Porzingis isn’t playing on Saturday night not due to injury, but illness.
The Latvian big guy already sat out Friday’s game against the Orlando Magic with flu-like symptoms.
He apparently hasn’t healed up yet.
When Porzingis sits, Onyeka Okongwu starts, and he’s a talented player who can hold up just fine in Porzingis’ absence. The impact is really felt further down the depth chart, in the minutes that would usually be the Okongwu backup minutes.
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On opening night, Porzingis dropped 20 points with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
But now he has missed two Hawks games in a row.
They’ll hope he can make it back sooner rather than later.
