Trae Young, who left in the third quarter of the Hawks’ loss in Dallas Saturday with a right ankle sprain, is available to play in Monday’s game against the Celtics, coach Lloyd Pierce said.
That’s welcome news for the Hawks. A recent slew of injuries leaves them shorthanded at pretty much every position outside of point guard (Jeff Teague will slide over and start alongside Young, in addition to Kevin Huerter, John Collins and Damian Jones, the team’s only true center available to play at the moment).
Centers Alex Len (right hip flexor strain), who was only able to play eight games in January, continues to be out, as is rookie center Bruno Fernando (left calf strain) who will have missed four consecutive games after Monday’s matchup. Power forward Jabari Parker (right shoulder impingement) has not played since Jan. 3.
Missing so many bodies, the Hawks will have to avoid foul trouble so they have enough options late in the game. And with so many frontcourt players out injured, they will feature smaller lineups and will deploy two of their point guards at the same time (Teague and Brandon Goodwin usually back up Young).
On the flip side, the Celtics aren’t at full force either, with Kemba Walker (left knee soreness) and Marcus Smart (right thigh contusion) out.
“You don’t blink, you just go into it, and the guys that are out there, have fun,” Pierce said of managing games while shorthanded. “We’ll be cross-matched, but they’ll be cross-matched as well, chasing three point guards around and trying to keep us out of the lane. You have to find your advantages, so we worked on a couple different things… Hopefully stay out of foul trouble is the biggest issue. But it’s still no excuse.”
Cam Reddish, who left in the first quarter of the loss to the Mavericks, was diagnosed with a concussion and is also out for the game, as is De’Andre Hunter (left ankle sprain), so the Hawks are down two rookie wings who carry hefty responsibilities on defense. DeAndre’ Bembry (right hand neuritis) and Chandler Parsons (concussion/whiplash/associated disc injury) continue to be unavailable.
Evan Turner, who has not played in a game since Dec. 28, will dress and be active for Monday’s game, Pierce said.
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