Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young is “optimistic” he can return to the court in December, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The veteran guard hasn’t suited up since Atlanta’s 117-112 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 29 due to suffering a sprained right MCL.
Rather than struggling without their most notable player, the Hawks have gone 12-8 after Young’s injury.
Forward Jalen Johnson has stepped up in a big way to be Atlanta’s primary facilitator. From Oct. 30 on, he’s averaging a team-high 8.7 assists, and he’s the leading scorer at 24.1 points.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has also put up 21.9 points and 3.5 assists per contest over the same span.
The Hawks have played so well that inserting Young back into the rotation might be a little more challenging than Quin Snyder expected. He found a formula that works, and the strategy will need to be tweaked to accommodate a ball-dominant guard who’s the No. 1 scoring option.
Charania wrote that the Hawks “believe [Young’s] fit with a rising core in Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu will elevate the team.”
It doesn’t sound as though Young’s return is imminent, so Snyder and his staff won’t have to contemplate any changes just yet.
