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In what came as a complete surprise on Wednesday evening, the Atlanta Hawks announced that free agent signing and starting center Dewayne Dedmon has been ruled out for the next three to six weeks as a result of a stress reaction (editor’s note: this was originally mistaken for a stress fracture) in his left tibia.
An @emoryhealthcare injury update:
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 29, 2017
Dewayne Dedmon is expected to miss the next three-to-six weeks due to a left tibia stress reaction. His status will be updated as appropriate. pic.twitter.com/UcqAhajDDi
The news comes completely out of the blue and has left the already shorthanded Hawks in a very tough position at the center spot, with Mike Muscala still dealing with an ankle injury.
The only silver lining in the clouds would be that Miles Plumlee has just returned to action after dealing with a quad injury, expect to see Plumlee and Tyler Cavanaugh spend time at the center spot as well as John Collins, who will surely see a much larger role at that center spot.
On the positive side for the Hawks, Luke Babbitt has been upgraded to probable (giving Atlanta another frontcourt option) and Isaiah Taylor no longer listed on the injury list after his eye injury.
Dedmon is averaging a career-high 11.1 points per game on 60% shooting from the field, a career-best 48% from three, career-high 7.8 rebounds per game and a career-high 1.4 assists per game.