The Atlanta Hawks will be without their best player for Game 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. Trae Young has been ruled out of the game after suffering a bone bruise in his right foot in Game 3, the team announced prior to tip-off. Young obviously wanted to play in the game, but pain combined with a lack of mobility worked against him. Young's absence is an enormous blow for the Hawks, who are down 2-1 in the series heading into Game 4.
Young suffered the bone bruise in his foot late in the third quarter of the Hawks' 113-102 loss in Game 3. He was along the sideline and tried to throw a pass that was deflected by Jrue Holiday. As he turned to try and run back on defense, Young stepped on the referee's foot. He sprained his ankle in the process and stayed down until play was stopped. You can see the play below:
After a short evaluation, Young made his way to the locker room with the Hawks' medical staff. He returned to the bench and ultimately returned to the game, but he didn't quite look like himself after sustaining the injury.
Young, who said after the game that his ankle was "sore" and "hurting," initially said that he planned to play in Game 4, but things didn't work out that way unfortunately.
"It's sore right now. It's hurting. It's frustrating," Young said after the game. "Yeah, it's hurting a little bit, and it's sore. I got some treatment on it. I'm going to go get some more in the morning. That's all I can do right now is get treatment."
Young has been tremendous in the playoffs, as he's led the Hawks to the conference finals for the first time since 2015. With a career-high 48 points in Game 1, Young helped the Hawks get their first conference finals win since they moved to Atlanta way back in 1968.
With his quickness, playmaking and ability to score at all three levels, Young has been the driving force behind the Hawks' surprise success. Heading into Game 3 of the ECF, he had either scored or assisted on 50.5 percent of the Hawks' made field goals. But it hasn't just been his actual production that's made a difference. Young's confidence and willingness to step up in big moments is infectious and has been an integral part of the Hawks' success. Now, they'll have to try to pull out a win without him in Game 4.