The Atlanta Hawks announced Saturday that Trae Young will undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his finger on his left hand, and will be out for at least four weeks. Young sustained the injury in Atlanta's Friday night loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Per the team's statement:
"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 Tuesday and will be re-evaluated in four weeks."
It's unclear exactly when in that game Young sustained his injury, because he played 35 minutes in the loss, but regardless of how it happened this is obviously a huge blow for the Hawks. Young was having another All-Star season, averaging 26.4 points and 10.8 assists on a team that relies heavily upon his scoring and playmaking ability. The entire offense is centered around Young, and without him at the heart of it, the Hawks will surely feel his absence.
With Young out, that means Dejounte Murray will take the reins of Atlanta's offense, allowing him to play more on-ball than before. Murray has experience at the point guard position from his five seasons with the Spurs, and he's also shared ballhandling responsibilities with Young in the backcourt with the Hawks. However, Young's absence from the lineup means Murray will likely see more pressure from defenders, which will force role players like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Jalen Johnson and Saddiq Bey to step up offensively.
Young being out for at least a month means he could return in April, right before the postseason starts. The Hawks would have to go through the play-in before securing a playoff spot, and with a three-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference, there isn't much room for error over their final 26 games.
