Atlanta, we have a problem.
The MRI came back on Atlanta Hawks point guard Kirk Hinrich's right hamstring injury and the results were not very good. The diagnosis was a severe strain and his is listed as doubtful for the Atlanta's Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup against the Chicago Bulls.
That's going to make life difficult for Atlanta, which must now go to "Plan B" when guarding Bulls guard Derrick Rose.
Atlanta traded for Hinrich in part to pick up some of the defensive duties from Joe Johnson when one of those big-time guards come into town. The theory was that Johnson would have would be able to finish games down the stretch with a tad bit of extra energy.
Now, Johnson will likely be the one who is primarily responsible for guarding Rose, who is one of the most prolific scorers in the league.
Expect to see more playing time for Jamal Crawford and second-year point guard Jeff Teague, who played in just two games in the recently completed six-game series against the Orlando Magic, should see hims minutes increase significantly.
I also wouldn't be shocked if Damien Wilkins is brought off the bench in stretches to basically pull a Zaza Pachulia on Rose a/k/a pester, annoy and disrupt Rose's game.
The good news is that Hinrich is not the only one who is ailing. The Bulls Carlos Boozer has turf toe. But he's expected to play in Game 1 on Monday.
Atlanta has played through adversity without Hinrich before and expect them to do it again when in the second-round series begins next week. But it's definitely not a way to being the series as the afterglow of the epic upset of the Magic begins to fade.
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