John Collins injury update: Hawks big man sidelined indefinitely with right finger, foot injuries

John Collins has played in just four games for the Atlanta Hawks since Feb. 11, and at this point t's unclear when the big man will play in another one. Collins will be sidelined indefinitely due to a plantar fascia tear in his right foot as well as damage to his right ring finger, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said Thursday that Collins was set to get a second opinion on both his sprained right ring finger and his strained right foot, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Sarah K. Spencer.

"John is just basically getting checked out," McMillan said. "He wants to get a second opinion on his foot and his finger, and we hope that we get some good news there." McMillan added that the Hawks "really don't know" whether or not Collins will be out for an extended period of time.

Collins returned to the lineup on March 4 after missing three weeks with the foot injury. In Atlanta's next game, on March 7, he injured his finger. X-rays revealed no fractures, so he played in the Hawks' next two games, but shot a combined 3-for-17 (and 0-for-8 from 3-point range), clearly not feeling like his normal self.

On Saturday, Collins said that "it's obviously tough to play basketball" with his swollen and stiff finger, and his other injury has "prevented me more from wanting to put pressure on my foot," via The Athletic's Chris Kirschner. He added that he wants to help his teammates, "but, at this point, am I hurting or helping?"

Atlanta has vastly underachieved relative to expectations; at 34-35, the team is 10th in the East, occupying the final spot in the play-in. When the Hawks had won seven straight games in mid-to-late January, it looked like they might turn the season around the same way they did last year. This has not happened, and, with Collins either out or severely limited, it is difficult to imagine everything falling into place in the postseason, should the Hawks manage to earn one of the final two spots. As bummed as they'd be to officially shut him down, Collins' finger and foot need time to heal. What is the upside in playing him?

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