It didn’t look good when it happened.
In the second quarter Saturday night, Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic was bringing the ball up court and rookie LaMelo Ball reached in for a steal. LaMelo clipped Bogdanovic’s heel (unintentionally), causing an awkward step that led to Bogdanovic’s knee buckling. Here is a video of the incident where you can see his knee bend in a direction knees should not bend.
Bogdanovic helped off the floor by trainers ... here’s the injury pic.twitter.com/2p1B66A14J
— Aaron Bruski (@aaronbruski) January 10, 2021
The Hawks announced Sunday that Bogdanovic “has been diagnosed with an avulsion fracture in his right knee with associated soft tissue inflammation and a bone bruise.” There is no timeline for his return, but this is going to be a while.
An @emoryhealthcare injury update:
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 10, 2021
Following an MRI, Bogdan Bogdanovic has been diagnosed with an avulsion fracture in his right knee with associated soft tissue inflammation and a bone bruise. His treatment plan will be updated later this week.
More: https://t.co/jHyLKrPVQp pic.twitter.com/qjHTONvVgS
An avulsion fracture is where a strain to ligament pulls a little bit of bone off where the two connect, and the ligament disconnects from the bone. It usually does not require surgery and can heal more quickly than a torn ligament, but with a bone bruise included, this will take some time.
With Bogdanovic out expect more run Kevin Huerter, plus two second-year players in Atlanta who have taken a leap forward this season with Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter.
Bogdanovic came to Atlanta as a free agent this offseason, inking a four-year, $72 million deal. He’s averaged 9.9 points a game, shooting 36.2% from three, but he has yet to find a comfort zone in the Hawks offense next Trae Young.