Millsap returns for Hawks after disastrous 3-game absence

Paul Millsap will return to the Atlanta Hawks' lineup when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, after a three-game absence that felt like three months.

Without the All-Star power forward, who's been sitting out with a hip injury, the Hawks went 0-3 while getting outscored by 82 points. That included a loss to the lowly Phoenix Suns and a 44-point beatdown that marked the largest margin of victory in Toronto Raptors' history.

There's no guarantee Millsap's presence alone will help turn the Hawks' fortunes around - even before he went down, the Hawks had lost three straight by a combined 47 points - but having their best player back certainly won't hurt. Through 18 games, Millsap is averaging 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals, and the Hawks have been 16.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.

Now losers of nine of their last 10 games, the Hawks desperately need to patch up a leaky ship that's taken on a lake's worth of water in the past week.

Millsap is the best bulwark they could ask for.