Trae Young — who suffered a bone bruise in his right foot in a freak accident stepping on a referee’s foot in Game 3 — is now out for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Bucks Tuesday night. The team made the announcement prior to tip-off.
An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tonight’s game vs. Milwaukee:
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 29, 2021
Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee soreness): Available
Trae Young (right foot bone bruise): Out
Brandon Goodwin (minor respiratory condition): Out
De’Andre Hunter (right meniscus surgery): Out pic.twitter.com/kTUT5kzUvI
Young had been undergoing treatment for the past 48 hours, but reportedly has limited movement and the pain from the injury was too much to play through.
It was an unfortunate and fluke injury. During the third quarter of Game 3, Young stepped back to plant and start running up court, in doing so put his foot just out of bounds, and his foot landed on top of a referee’s. Young’s ankle rolled and he went to the ground, then soon left the game. While Young returned in the fourth quarter, he was a shell of himself. The Bucks went on to win the game and take a 2-1 series lead.
Trae Young heads to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 28, 2021
Prayers up 🙏 pic.twitter.com/KqbwUuUHMr
This is a massive blow to the Hawks’ chances — Atlanta’s offense is 17.8 points per 100 possessions worse this series when Young sits, and they score less than a point per possession on offense without him. Atlanta lacks secondary shot creators. While Bogdan Bogdanovic was brought in to help fill that role, he is playing through a knee injury that limits his movement. More will fall on the shoulders of John Collins, Kevin Huerter, and Danilo Gallinari, but none of them are true playmakers.