The Atlanta Hawks announced on Wednesday that De’Andre Hunter ‘s season will come to an end due to a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. After playing in all five games against the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, Hunter experienced mild swelling in his right knee before Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hunter underwent an MRI that revealed a new small tear of the lateral meniscus which will sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. He will travel to Los Angeles over the weekend and undergo surgery on the lateral meniscus next Tuesday. The Philadelphia native originally suffered the knee injury on January 29 as it sidelined him for a majority of the second half of the season. Hunter appeared in just 23 regular season games averaging 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
“We’re being cautious with him. We don’t want to do anything with him that would jeopardize long-term effects with his knee,” said Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk on Wednesday. “It’s walking that fine line between living in the moment and projecting five or ten years down the line to do what’s best for the franchise.”
Early on in the season, Hunter became a focal point for the Hawks through his versatility on both ends of the floor. The 6-foot-7 forward has the lateral quickness to guard an opposing team’s best guard while also taking on bigger forwards. He served as a major reason as to why Julius Randle had such poor performances against the Hawks in the first round.
Hunter’s offensive production was also a major factor in the Hawks’ success. He hit big shots towards the end of games in the first round while being another ball handler and an efficient spot-up shooter for Atlanta.
The Hawks are now without Hunter and Cam Reddish, their two best perimeter defenders, and will rely on the defense of Solomon Hill and Tony Snell going forward. Hill has started in place for Hunter over the past two games but has totaled just six points on 14 percent shooting (2-9 Fg) in the series.
After Atlanta managed to steal Game 1 in a thriller, the team dropped Game 2 as Tobias Harris and Seth Curry picked them apart. Harris scored 16 of his 22 points in the first quarter pushing the 76ers to lead by as many as 20 points in the first half. Curry finished with 21 points on 5-for-6 shooting from three-point range for Philadelphia.
It’s clear the loss of De’Andre Hunter is significant, and his defense would’ve made a major difference against Curry, Harris, and Ben Simmons in this series.
The Hawks head back home to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 but will need more from their role players on both ends to win this series.
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