Hawks’ Dewayne Dedmon out three to six weeks

Dewayne Dedmon of the Atlanta Hawks dunks against the Boston Celtics at Philips Arena on November 6, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia.   (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Dewayne Dedmon of the Atlanta Hawks dunks against the Boston Celtics at Philips Arena on November 6, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Hawks were dealt another injury blow on Wednesday with the loss of starting center Dewayne Dedmon.

The team announced late Wednesday afternoon that Dedmon will miss three to six weeks due to a left tibia stress reaction. The injury was revealed after an MRI exam Wednesday at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex. The good news, if some can be found, is that the stress reaction was discovered before there was a fracture. It is not believed the injury was suffered in a specific incident. Dedmon complained of shin pain recently so the Hawks had the MRI exam.

Dedmon has been one of the most consistent Hawks this season after signing as a free agent. He has appeared in all 20 games and averaged 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds. He has a 60.1 percent field goal percentage.

The Hawks are thin in the frontcourt already. Mike Muscala is out with an ankle injury. He did not practice on Wednesday. Rookie John Collins has played center but started the past three games at power forward alongside Dedmon. The Hawks recently got center Miles Plumlee back from a quad injury suffered in the preseason. He missed the first 19 games and made his Hawks debut on Saturday, playing nine minutes in a loss to the Raptors. The Hawks acquired Plumlee from the Hornets in the Dwight Howard trade.