The Atlanta Hawks’ hopes of evening up their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Milwaukee Bucks took a major hit just before tip on Tuesday evening. According to Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, star guard Trae Young will not be able to take the floor due to a foot injury he suffered in Game 3.
Reporting with @wojespn: Hawks star Trae Young is out for Game 4 vs. Bucks tonight with a deep bone bruise in his right foot. Young exhausted every avenue to try and find a way to return to play, but a severe lack of mobility and significant degree of pain made it impossible.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 29, 2021
Reporting with @Malika_Andrews: Hawks star Trae Young is out for Game 4 vs. Bucks with a deep bone bruise in his right foot. Young exhausted every avenue to try and find a way to return to play, but a severe lack of mobility and significant degree of pain made it impossible.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2021
The Hawks announced the news shortly after.
An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tonight’s game vs. Milwaukee:
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— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 29, 2021
Young suffered the injury in the third quarter of the previous game. Originally thought to be an ankle injury, Young attempted to throw a pass that was picked off by the Bucks, and as he turned to make his way back onto the defensive end of the floor, he accidentally stepped on a referee’s foot and fell to the floor. While he was able to return to the game after getting examined in the back, he was obviously a bit gimpy and was ultimately listed as questionable to play on Tuesday.
The Hawks certainly have enough talent to pick up a win and tie the series up at 2-2, Young has been the breakout star of the 2021 postseason, and losing his ability to hit shots, make plays, and provide an emotional lift will be a gigantic hurdle to overcome. So far this postseason, Young has averaged 29.8 points and 9.5 assists in 37.9 minutes per game.
