Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young has been sidelined due to a sprained ankle, but he's expected to make his return to the lineup for Friday night's game against the Boston Celtics, according to a report from Hawks writer Kevin Chouinard.
Young was a full participant in Tuesday's practice session, according to Chouinard. Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce believes his starting point guard will be ready to go by Friday:
Lloyd Pierce said that Trae Young participated fully in today's non-contact practice.
"I would imagine he'd be ready to go by Friday."
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) December 31, 2019
Young was ruled out of Atlanta's game on Friday against the Bucks, shortly after making his way to the locker room for evaluation. It's the same ankle that he tweaked back in November, so the team was obviously concerned. Kevin Huerter was given a starting nod with Young out of commission.
Article Continues BelowTrae Young had to be helped off the court before halftime after suffering an apparent ankle injury pic.twitter.com/qf7SsaNnjI
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) December 28, 2019
The fact that Young is nearing a return is great news for the Hawks, who are currently holding a disappointing 7-27 overall record. He'll likely be placed on a minutes restriction at first, but the team could certainly use his production on both ends of the floor.
In his 31 appearances this season for Atlanta, Young has racked up averages of 28.5 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field (36.8 percent from beyond the arc), 8.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 34.9 minutes per outing.
Friday night's matchup between the Hawks and Celtics is scheduled to tip inside TD Garden at 7:00 p.m. ET. Atlanta will be looking for another win after dropping 10 straight, while Boston has won five of its last six.