Hawks small forward De’Andre Hunter injured a tendon in his right wrist and will undergo surgery, causing him to miss at least eight weeks, the team announced in a press release.
Hunter, 23, is 6-foot-8 and has started in each of his 11 appearances this season, averaging 10.8 points and 2.7 rebounds.
His void is likely to be filled by guard/forward Kevin Huerter — the starter when Hunter was injured at the end of last season and the Hawks made a run to the Eastern Conference finals.
Atlanta owns the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference at 5-9. Hunter only played in 23 of the team’s 72 games last season. https://t.co/GiCBYkeB3y
— JD Shaw (@JShawNBA) November 15, 2021
Given the timeline, Hunter is likely to be sidelined until at least the second week of January, as noted by Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He suffered the injury in a Nov. 11 loss vs. the Warriors, and a follow-up MRI revealed the extent of it.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Virginia, Hunter is shooting a miserable 40 percent on free throws. Still, his loss is a setback for a Hawks team is already struggling to start the year.
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