John Collins to undergo MRI on shoulder, will miss game in Brooklyn

Hawks rookie John Collins will undergo an MRI examination this morning to survey the damage done to Collins’ left shoulder which was injured in the closing stages of the fourth quarter in the Hawks’ 121-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers

As a result, Collins will not travel with the team to Brooklyn, ahead of the Hawks’ contest with the Nets on Saturday at Barclays Center, and will miss the game, per Michael Cunningham of the AJC:

Collins was already a replacement as the team’s starting center for the injured Dewayne Dedmon, who was ruled out for 3-6 weeks with a leg injury.

With the absence of Collins set for Saturday, expect the Hawks to play a lot more smaller lineups with Ersan Ilyasova at center and a few additional minutes for Hawks two-way big-man Tyler Cavanaugh and Miles Plumlee.

Collins is averaging 11.5 points per game on 59% shooting from the field and 7.1 rebounds per game in his debut campaign. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.