Although it didn’t seem like it, Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks won 3-2 in a recent home game to return to a playoff position in the crowded Eastern Conference hierarchy.
On Wednesday night, the hero of Atlanta’s victory over the Orlando Magic was not Young, but his teammate Dejounte Murray, as the former All-Star hit the winning shot at the buzzer to hold off Orlando.
The Hawks will host Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat on Friday night, and on Thursday afternoon the team released an injury report that is sure to raise eyebrows among fans, as Young is officially listed as questionable for the Heat game due to an undisclosed illness.
Young joins Mouhamed Gueye (right lower back stress fracture), De’Andre Hunter (right knee inflammation), Vit Krejci (left shoulder subluxation) and Wesley Matthews (right calf strain) on the list to miss the Miami game.
Trae Young was playing arguably the best basketball of his career until his recent mini slump, combining his usual stats with increased efficiency and a marked improvement in his defensive effort.
Unfortunately, this has coincided with mostly losing basketball for the Hawks, who will become sellers instead of buyers at the upcoming trade deadline.
The Hawks and Heat will play a rematch of last year’s play-in game in Miami at 20:00 CET.