The Atlanta Hawks currently hold a 3 game lead on the Brooklyn Nets for the 10th and final spot in the Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference, but their path to a second-half run to a better spot in the Play-In just got considerably more difficult.
On Friday night, All-Star guard Trae Young suffered a torn ligament in a finger on his left hand in a loss to the Raptors and the Hawks announced on Sunday that Young will have surgery this week in New York and will be re-evaluated in a month.
During Friday’s game vs. Toronto, guard Trae Young suffered a left hand injury. He underwent an MRI yesterday at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, 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 Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Young has had a terrific year, averaging 26.4 points and 10.8 assists per game for the Hawks, but will now have to rehab his injury until close to April. Being re-evaluated in four weeks means he will likely require a bit longer before returning to the court, and for a Hawks team that has been struggling with their star, having to go a month without him will be a tall order. Atlanta is currently 24-32 having lost three in a row and sits two games behind Chicago for ninth in the East.