Trae Young's hurt ankle could become the biggest bummer of the NBA playoffs
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Trae Young has officially made the jump to NBA superstar in the playoffs this year thanks to a dominant and fun run that has seen him put up some historical numbers while leading the Hawks to their first Eastern Conference Finals in 50 years.
And that’s what makes what happened last night such a bummer. We’ve seen so many injuries in the playoffs so far (Kawhi Leonard continues to look like he’s going to be out for a while, which is awful) and now we can unfortunately add Young to that list as he turned his ankle late in the third quarter of Game 3. The Hawks were leading at the time but went on to lose, 113-102.
Young was able to return to the game after a trip to the locker room but he was a shell of himself the rest of the way – he scored just three points and was seen grimacing a number of times according to Reggie Miller, who was calling the game court-side.
After the game Young said about the ankle: “It’s hurting, it’s frustrating … it’s hurting a little bit and it’s sore.”
It’s not only frustrating for him but also for all the fans like myself who have had so much fun watching Young do his thing in the playoffs and it would stink if he’s not himself in the next few pivotal games against the Bucks.
It’s also frustrating how this ankle injury happened – he turned it after stepping on an official’s foot in what was a total freak accident. Of all the ways for one of the most electric players in the game to suffer an injury and he does it by stepping on a ref’s foot?
Ugh.
The ref, by the way, should take no blame in this at all as he was standing where he was supposed to be and, again, it was a total freak thing to happen.
Young could bounce back and be good to go for Game 4 but we’ve all watched sports for a long time and know how lingering ankle sprains can affect a player, especially one like Young who uses his speed and cutting ability to make plays. A bum ankle could make him less effective, which wouldn’t be good for the Hawks or this series.
Hopefully I’m just looking too much into this injury and have just been beaten down by all the injuries we’ve seen already in the playoffs. Hopefully Young is back to full speed tomorrow night in Game 4. And hopefully he continues to be able to put on his shows.
If he’s not, then it will just be another bummer of a time in these NBA playoffs.
Quick hits: First MLB pitcher gets tossed after search… Wild baseball brawl in Mexican League… Ohtani’s loud home run… And more.
(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
– Seattle’s Hector Santiago became the first pitcher to be ejected after being searched for sticky substances and MLB fans had reactions.
– This breakdown of a baseball brawl that had a hitter throwing his bat at the pitcher is wild.
– The sound Shohei Ohtani’s bat made when he connected with his 25th home run on Sunday was unreal.
– Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda shared an awesome moment on the 18th green after Nelly won her first major on Sunday.
– Mike Breen’s hilarious call of Kawhi Leonard ‘going crazy’ while watching Clippers in Game 4 was too good.