It looked serious when it happened, and it felt like it doomed a Hawks team already trailing by double digits on the road.
It may turn out to be neither.
With :30 seconds in the first half, Hawks’ center Clint Capela fouled Cavaliers’ big man Evan Mobley, who fell backward, right into Capela’s knee, hyperextending it.
After the foul, Evan Mobley crashed straight into Clint Capela's knee.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 16, 2022
Here's to hoping it's nothing serious 🙏pic.twitter.com/P1GgzMufEu
Capela had to be helped off the court and did not play in the second half. Without him, the Hawks rallied on the road behind 38 points from Trae Young and beat the Cavaliers to advance to the first round of the playoffs. Atlanta will face off against Miami starting on Sunday.
Whether Capela can play in that series remains to be seen.
Atlanta announced Capela will have an MRI on Saturday in Miami, and his status will be based on those results. As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes notes, the hyperextension is what happened to the knee, not the injury itself.
Re: Capela: Remember the term hyperextension simply describes what happened to the joint. It isn’t an actual injury. Multiple possible injuries ranging from a soft tissue strain or capsule injury to a more significant ligament sprain.
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) April 16, 2022
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported there is optimism that Capela’s injury is not serious.
There’s initial optimism that Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela hasn’t suffered significant right knee damage, but an MRI on Saturday will determine extent of possible injury, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 16, 2022
Atlanta needs Capela against the Heat to have a chance, specifically to match up with Bam Adebayo. Capela averaged 11.1 points and 11.9 rebounds a game this season; more importantly, he provides the Hawks an interior defensive presence they will need in the next series.