Jock Landale's broken nose 'masks' shooting woes

• Landale broke his nose in the Hawks' 132-125 season-opening win at Orlando
• He says the mask has hurt his shooting and has no timeline for it
• Landale is building chemistry off the bench with rookie Kingston Flemings

Australian Boomers and Atlanta Hawks centre Jock Landale said he "had no idea" how long he would have to wear a mask after his nose was broken in the season opener last week.

Landale, 31, stayed in the game and helped the Hawks to 1-0, with the 132-125 win at Orlando on Thursday, October 22 (AEDT).

"The mask has been a little rough," Landale said yesterday.

"It's a massive adjustment, just messing with your vision a little bit. I was dealing with a swollen eye on top of that and a clogged tear duct and stuff.

"It's been a little nasty, but it's fine. I've got to get used to it for a period of time, so it is what it is. Trying to just embrace it, put it to bed and move on.

"It's a sliding scale. It's a bit of an ongoing conversation.

"Have you ever heard of Yoel Romero, the UFC fighter? He broke his orbital bone or something, and they said it was already healing by the time he went to the docs. I'm hoping I'm like that. [Laughs]

"I really have no idea. It's a sliding scale. We'll see what happens.

"I don't want to give you the period of time I last heard because that might not be the truth. I'll see the docs again this week, as I haven't seen them here in Atlanta yet. I saw the ones in Charlotte the day after the Orlando game. Hopefully I'll know more soon."

The Hawks are 2-3, and Landale is shooting 46.9% (15-for-32) and just 1-for-13 from deep (7.7%), down from his career 51.6% from the field and 32.8% from three.

"I'm sure it has," Landale answered when asked if it had impacted his shooting.

"With that drastic of a drop-off since preseason – I think in preseason I would have been shooting over 50% from three, and now I can't throw a stone in the ocean.

"It is what it is. I'm trying not to create a narrative around it because I have to embrace it and just get used to it. I'm sure once I see one go through, everything will be sweet. I'm not too worried at all."

Landale is coming off the bench and continues to build chemistry with explosive rookie Kingston Flemings.

"I think just the pairing of both of us – me being someone who plays quite a calm, controlled, mature game – I think their reasoning behind it was to expose him to that, being someone who plays such a high tempo and fast," Landale said.

"Also, basically all of our minutes are paired together, so we needed that exposure to get used to one another.

"Teams are starting to guard it a little bit differently, so it's been tough to get the same level of success. But the good thing about the way our team plays is it's not like a one-five relationship defines how that group does. All five are really connected and moving together.

"I'm sure the thought was just to get us as much exposure together as we can get, and we'll see that continue to grow throughout the year.

"I think Kingston's great. I think he's been doing a really good job. He's got a massive upside, and as the game slows down, we'll continue to see him grow."

Flemings told reporters the Australian Boomers bronze medallist was vocal in their actions and Landale responded: "Communication. Communication is everything.

"That's something I really pride myself on, being very active and loud out on the court.

"I think communication is essential, not just within a playing group but an organisation – staff, front office, whatever it is. People have to talk.

"I feel as though I'm helping him a lot to navigate the situations. Part of it is just knowing the personnel, right? You've got to know guys' tendencies. You've got to know the jargon of the group.

"Being that we have very different lingo to every other organisation, there's a catch-up process to that, which took me eight months to figure out after I got here.

"Once he stops having to think and feel it out – and it's not just him, there are a lot of new people doing the same thing – the game just becomes a lot easier. That's at least what I found.

"The point of difference for us is just communicating. I also have an accent, which I'm sure some people have no idea what I'm saying.

"I feel like we're in a really good spot. I honestly do. I think we're growing as a group, and I think me and Kingston's relationship is continuing to flourish as well."