Trae Young's Status Revealed for Tomorrow's Game vs the Magic

After being listed as questionable for tomorrow's game vs the Orlando Magic, Trae Young has now been ruled out by the Hawks.

An @emoryhealthcare injury update:

Trae Young (left fifth finger injury): Out https://t.co/GsTMsmyO9X
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 25, 2024

This is going to be an obvious big blow for Atlanta. Young has not been playing well but he is their best player by a lot. Bogdan Bogdanovic will likely start in his place, but this could also be an opportunity for rookie guard Kobe Bufkin to get some playing time.

The Hawks provided an update on center Onyeka Okongwu today:

"Center Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain/sesamoiditis) has been placed in a walking boot. He will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks and his status will be updated as appropriate."

This is huge news. Okongwu was playing well before he went down with his injury and you could even make the argument that he should be the starting center for the rest of the season. Atlanta got a boost with Clint Capela coming back last night, but he is still on a minutes restriction and has not been as good of a player as Okongwu this season.

Going forward, expect Capela, Bruno Fernando, and Jalen Johnson to handle the center duties. It will likely just be Capela and Fernando once Capela is ready to come off of his minutes restriction.

The Hawks have had a hard time getting healthy this year. There have not been many games where the top eight players of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Okongwu, Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and De'Andre Hunter have been healthy. Atlanta has plenty of issues, but not having these guys together for more games has hindered this team this season.

The Hawks face the Orlando Magic tomorrow night at home at 7:00 p.m. Orlando is playing the Pistons tonight, so it could be beneficial for the Hawks from a scheduling perspective.

Hawks Provide Big Update For Onyeka Okongwu's Injury

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