Injuries to All-Stars Horford, Millsap under microscope in Hawks-Nets series

ATLANTA -- With one half of their All-Star conglomerate managing injuries, the Atlanta Hawks find themselves in an interesting balancing act entering Game 2 against the Brooklyn Nets.

The team's versatile and talented starting frontcourt, Al Horford and Paul Millsap, expects to play through injuries in order to help uphold the home-court advantage a 60-win regular season paved the way for, but it brings up the question: Where is the middle ground between playing well and beating an underwhelming Nets team while simultaneously staying healthy for an extended playoff run? How does a team that relies so much on rhythm and cohesiveness maintain that edge while juggling various ailments that limit its top players?

For now, Mike Budenholzer & Co. are going with the business-as-usual approach.

"I hope this is like a non-story," the second-year head coach said of the injuries on Monday. "I think, you know, we'll keep an eye on Al's finger and hope for the best. And I think we're all of that mindset. I think Paul's kinda working his way back and he impacts the game in so many different ways. He may not have shot it that well (in Game 1) but he does a lot of other things that are really high-level. ... (The injury concerns are) not on our minds very much."

Still, the health of the Millsap-Horford tandem remains the No. 1 topic of interest for a team that has set its sights far past this postseason's opening round.

Millsap is a little further along in his injury rehabilitation than Horford. After missing five games with a shoulder sprain, the 6-foot-8 forward returned for the regular-season finale and Atlanta's Game 1 win, though he did not play particularly well offensively. To protect the injury, Millsap has worn a protective shoulder pad that limits his range of motion -- and, to a certain degree, his shooting form (he's hit just four of his past 20 shots since his return) -- but could ditch the preventative measure on Wednesday in an effort to get back into form.

"We played around with it," Millsap said of altering the pad. "Cut it in areas, tried to protect (the shoulder), tried to leave a little bit on there just to protect it. ... "I'm trying to balance it out: pain to mobility. I don't know, we'll see what happens that day."

The injury has thrown off everything from Millsap's shot to his workout routine. During the 99-92 series-opening win, he favored the shoulder and said, at times, he played a little more timid to avoid excessive contact. Playing without the pad would -- obviously -- provide even less protection were significant contact to occur.

"With the sequence of events that happened, it could get hit. Any time you're on the court, you could get crashed into. It's a risk any time you get out there," Millsap said of the chances of re-injuring the shoulder. "But a shoulder? I feel comfortable with it."

Horford, on the other hand, provided Philips Arena with a scare after dislocating the pinkie finger on his shooting hand in Game 1. The Hawks' centerpiece would later return to the game with his finger taped, but the injury is cumbersome and uncomfortable. Horford said his ability to play will depend less on pain management than his ability to play effectively with his finger taped, but following a long night of treatment uncertainty remains.

In the locker room on Sunday night, the three-time All-Star was adamant that he would play in Game 2, but he walked those statements back after Monday's practice.

"I think there's still some question about it," Horford said of his Game 2 status. " ... We really don't have a timetable. My wife was playing nurse again last night, taking care of my icing and Epsom salt and all that stuff. So I've been doing a lot of that and trying to feel better. I'm just going to keep on doing that the next couple days and hopefully I'll be good enough for Wednesday."

Once again, this underscores Atlanta's balancing act.

Injuries can derail any team's playoff run, but the prolonged good health of the Hawks' first-string big men is crucial. While reserve Pero Antic played well in the opener, Atlanta is not flush with top-line frontcourt depth. Antic, Mike Muscala and Elton Brand can provide quality minutes off the bench in certain situations, but the team's chances of getting out of the Eastern Conference without Horford and Millsap at full strength are not great. Their ability to stretch the floor and make plays is pivotal to Budenholzer's pace-and-space attack, while their contributions on the defensive end are all-too-often overlooked.

All that being said, it is far too early to be sounding any alarms.

The two players and their teammates seem confident these issues will pass, particularly with the added benefit of postseason scheduling, which can give players up to two or three days' rest in between games.

"It's definitely a concern, but I don't think we're overly concerned," said guard Kyle Korver, who poured in a game-high 21 points in Game 1. "Paul's just going to keep on getting better. He just hasn't played in a couple weeks and he's dealing with this thing on his shoulder. I dealt with a thing on my face (protecting a broken nose) for a while. You know, it just takes a minute to get used to it. I'm not worried about Paul. And Al seems to feel like he's going to be OK, too, so hopefully it's not that big of a deal."

Following film session and practice at Philips on Monday, after updating the media on the franchise's position with the injuries in question, Budenholzer downplayed the situation by throwing in his own personal lighthearted best-case scenario: "I can definitely appreciate (the concern). I'm hoping that they go 11 for 11 and 7 for 7 and they do cartwheels on their shoulders and fingers or whatever."