Hawks' Nate McMillan, Trae Young Discuss Bogdan Bogdanovic's Injury

The Atlanta Hawks have dealt with their fair share of injury setbacks throughout the playoffs. As the second-round series tipped off against the Philadelphia 76ers nearly two weeks ago, the Hawks anticipated getting De'Andre Hunter back in the mix at some point as he was dealing with knee soreness.

Listed as questionable in Game 1, Hunter was ruled out after going through pregame warmups. As the second game of the series approached, Hunter was in the same position. Leading up to the matchup, he was a game-time decision. After getting a warmup in, Atlanta downgraded him to out.

With hopes he could return in Game 3, the Hawks were shocked to find out Hunter's postseason run was coming to an end early. After undergoing an MRI, it was revealed Hunter was dealing with a torn meniscus, which would require surgery.

The Hawks kept up with the Sixers with Hunter out of the mix. Going into Friday night's Game 6 matchup, the Hawks had Philly on the ropes as they led the second-round series 3-2. As both teams battled back and forth throughout the entire night on Friday, Atlanta lost another key player late in the game.

Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic appeared on the court for 28 minutes in Game 6. After picking up a little over two minutes of playing time in the final quarter, the veteran came off the floor as he was dealing with soreness in his right knee, according to Hawks head coach Nate McMillan.

After leaving the game early, Bogdanovic would never return as he was ruled out for the remainder of the matchup. Without him, the Hawks fell short to the Sixers, who forced a Game 7 with a 104-99 victory.

“I haven’t gotten an update on Bogi," said Hawks coach Nate McMillan after the game. "I was told that he couldn’t return to the game during the game."

Similar to his head coach, Hawks star Trae Young didn't have much of an update regarding Bogdanovic following the matchup.

"I don't know too much," Young said. "I know he was out for most of the second half, and I know he's going to try and get treatment and hopefully be ready for Game 7."

With the uncertainty surrounding Bogdanovic's status for Sunday's series finale, Young makes it clear the Hawks are ready to instill the "next-man-up" mentality for the elimination matchup as it's do-or-die the next time they take the court.

"We gotta be ready to play with or without him," Young continued. "Obviously, he's a big piece to our team and brings a lot of scoring. He's a big part of our team, but nobody's going to feel sorry for us if we lose. We got to go out there and play hard."

On Saturday, McMillan offered another update on Bogdanovic, confirming he's just dealing with soreness in his knee. As the guard is undergoing treatment, it seems his status for Game 7 is currently up in the air still. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.