The Atlanta Hawks entered Sunday 10th in the Eastern Conference, which would make them the last team to make the East’s Play-In Tournament. They’re three games up on the Brooklyn Nets and 3.5 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors with 26 games left in the season.
Atlanta Hawks say All-Star Trae Young will undergo surgery to repair a ligament tear in fifth finger of left hand and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/jb5vIaZoe3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 25, 2024
However, their playoff hopes took a major blow over the weekend as All-Star guard Trae Young tore a ligament in his left pink in the team’s 123-121 loss to Toronto on Friday. The Hawks announced he’ll undergo surgery over the next couple days and is out for at least four weeks.
Atlanta has struggled of late, losing three in a row to drop their record to 24-32. Now they’ll have to make a run without Young, who ranks 11th in the league in points (26.4), second in assists (10.8) and is tied for eighth in steals (1.4).
The Hawks were already supreme long shots to win the East, but their odds dropped to +30000 as of Sunday evening. It’s still higher than the Bulls, who are +50000 despite being ahead of them in the ninth spot. Meanwhile, all five teams behind them are +80000, indicating the books still like their chances to reach the Play-In Tournament over the Wizards, Raptors, Pistons, Hornets and Nets.
