Trae Young will not play in Game 5 vs. the Bucks on Thursday night, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to the AJC. Young is still dealing with a bone bruise in his right foot.
The news was first reported by ESPN.
Young has not suffered a setback, and is in fact feeling a little better, per Hawks coach Nate McMillan, but not well enough to play.
“(He) just didn’t feel comfortable enough to go (Thursday),” McMillan said pregame.
Both teams will be missing their stars, as Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hyperextended his left knee Tuesday in Game 4, is out for Milwaukee. The Hawks certainly miss Young’s scoring and playmaking, though they were able to put together a balanced performance to win Game 4 and even the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 without him, putting up 26 assists thanks to standout games from the backcourt of Lou Williams, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
“We’ve been able to make that adjustment and guys have been able to step in, really, all season long, with the different guys being out,” McMillan said. “You know, guys are getting opportunities in situations like that, and you know, this year for us, guys have taken advantage of that. You know, Lou, I think had a couple starts, but you know, it was Brandon (Goodwin) early in the season. It was Solomon (Hill). It was Tony (Snell). You know, we’ve had a number of guys throughout the season to have to fill in for guys who are injured, and they have taken advantage of it.
“So what I’ve learned is these guys prepare themselves. I think our coaches do a good job preparing the guys, having them ready, keeping them ready to go, and when they get that opportunity, they have been able to take advantage of it. You know, Cam had not played in four months, and again coaches did a good job of working with him. He couldn’t get a lot of live play. A lot of it was two-on-two, three-on-three, with our coaches playing. So they had him ready. And last game, he was big for us. Came up big for us. You know, he took advantage of that opportunity.”
Young was injured late in the third quarter of Game 3 on Sunday when he stepped on an official’s foot, causing an awkward landing.
In some good injury news, however, Clint Capela will be available for Game 5. He was elbowed in the eye in Game 4.
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