What Happened to Trae Young? Will Hawks Star Return in Time for Playoffs?

The Atlanta Hawks are facing a massive blow in the form of Trae Young being out on injury for four weeks. The star point guard recently suffered a radial ligament tear (RCL) in the fifth finger of his left hand, during the Hawks’ Friday night loss against the Toronto Raptors. For this, Young underwent surgery, and his availability will be reassessed after four weeks.

Trae Young made his third All-Star appearance this year and is leading the Hawks with an average of 26.4 points and 10.8 assists per game. With the loss of Trae Young, it is assumed that Dejounte Murray would likely assume the primary ball-handling responsibility to lead the offense for the Hawks.

An @emoryhealthcare injury update:

During Friday’s game, Trae Young suffered a left-hand injury. He underwent an MRI yesterday, which revealed a tear of the radial collateral ligament (RCL) in the fifth finger of his left hand. He will undergo surgery to repair the RCL on… pic.twitter.com/V0OXvUGCBv

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 25, 2024

Young was replaced by Bogdan Bogdanovic in the starting lineup for the game against the Orlando Magic last Sunday night. Bogdanovic has played a crucial role as a reserve for around 46 games, averaging 16.8 points per game this season.

Following the surgery, Young updated his fans through a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the procedure went without problems. Furthermore, this is the first time Young has suffered a finger injury, meaning the Hawks might want to exercise caution in their reassessment before fielding him, following his recovery.

Made it through ..
1st surgery & God Willing my last.. don’t worry I’ll be ready when the time is right ! ❄️

1 Corinthians 15:10
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace… pic.twitter.com/nXR3RTYZlo

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) February 27, 2024

Young’s injury has been a nail in the coffin for the Hawks, who are playing rather disappointingly this season. It would be interesting to see how the Hawks fare for the next month without Young in their squad to contend for the Play-In tournament and the postseason.

How will the Hawks fare without Trae Young?

The Hawks are currently placed tenth in the Eastern Conference table and are in a precarious situation, with their league record being 26-32 this season. They are just 4 and 5 games ahead of the 11th- and 12th-place Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets, respectively.

With just 23 games remaining for the Hawks, this season, Atlanta must consistently win to retain their position and contend for the Play-In tournament.

The loss of Trae Young comes at a situation wherein the Hawks are fighting for a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. The team also faces front-line depth issues, given that their center, Onyeka Okongwu, is recovering from a sprained left toe. Without Trae Young, the Hawks have a 4-3 record this season, which does not look quite optimistic for their run for the remaining number of games.