The Toronto Raptors Play-In Tournament chances just got a little bit better.
The Atlanta Hawks have announced that All-Star guard Trae Young will undergo surgery to repair a ligament tear in fifth finger of left hand. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Young was seen holding his finger in the Hawks latest game against the Raptors:
Atlanta Hawks say All-Star Trae Young will undergo surgery to repair a ligament tear in fifth finger of left hand and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/jb5vIaZoe3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 25, 2024
This is a big blow for the Hawks who have already been a wildly inconsistent team. They have lost 3 games in a row and have failed to hit their stride this season.
The Hawks currently have a 3 game lead on the Brooklyn Nets and a 3.5 game lead on the Raptors for the final play-in spot. If Atlanta continues to struggle without Young, they could look to settle for a high lottery pick.
This situation now leaves the door open for the Raptors to try and make a play-in push with 25 games left on the season.
The Raptors do not own their 2024 first-round pick which belongs to the San Antonio Spurs (Top-6 protected). They currently have the seventh worst record in the league. This gives them just a 32 percent chance to land a top-four pick.
Therefore, the Raptors could now be motivated to push for the final play-in spot since there is a good chance that they will not keep their first-round pick anyway.
The Raptors and Hawks split the season series 2-2 with their latest encounter resulting in a 123-121 Raptors win.
Raptors push for play-in is on
It was speculated which approach the Raptors would take for the final stretch of the season. Would they tank or be competitive and try to push for the play-in?
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic recently stated that the Raptors are currently focused on winning and getting in the play-in tournament.
Now, they have a realistic shot to make it happen.
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