Hawks C Al Horford and SF Kyle Korver will sit out final preseason game

It’s been a bit of a rough preseason for the Atlanta Hawks, as the team has faltered to a 1-5 record, and in the process, lost backup big man Gustavo Ayon for several weeks to a shoulder issue, and starting power forward Paul Millsap to an achilles issue. Now, the team is in Dallas on Wednesday night for their final preseason tilt of the year, and they’ll be short-handed.

From the looks of these from Chris Vivlamore’s Tweet above, it doesn’t seem as if Al Horford will be gone long, but as the best player for the Hawks, it’s certainly a concern. The 6-foot-10 big man did play 29 minutes in Atlanta’s loss to Indiana on Tuesday, so this could be simply an avoidance of an unnecessary back-to-back. Unfortunately for Atlanta, the absences don’t stop there for Wednesday evening.

Again, I would surmise that Korver’s lack of availability wouldn’t be a major concern, but with Horford, Millsap, Ayon, and Lou Williams already out of the lineup, the Hawks will be reaching deep into their bench for Wednesday’s game.

The regular season is a week away, but for a team that most people consider a playoff “lock” (or something resembling that) in the Eastern Conference, the issues are piling up in Atlanta.