Washington Wizards guard Trae Young during an NBA game.
TheWashingtonWizardsannouncedMondaynightthatTraeYoungwillmisstherestoftheirgameagainsttheGoldenStateWarriorsbecauseofarightquadcontusion.Theupdatecameduringliveaction,turningwhathadalreadybeenacloselywatchedworkloadnightforYoungintoafreshinjuryconcernforWashington.AtthetimeofESPN’sliveboxscoresnapshot,theWarriorsled88-76with3:58leftinthethirdquarter.
Youngwasruledoutmidgame,andthedesignationfromtheteamwasarightquadcontusion.ItmattersrightawaybecauseYounghadalreadybeenplayingundermonitoredminutesafterreturningfromapriorstretchontheinjuryreportrelatedtohisrightleg,andWashingtonisstilltryingtoramphimupsafelylateintheseason.
KeyPoints
TheWizardsannouncedTraeYoungwasoutfortheremainderoftheWarriorsgamewitharightquadcontusion.
Younghadbeenonaminutesrestrictionsincehisreturn,withWashingtonpreviouslytargetingroughly17to20minutesinhisearlygamesback.
Beforeexiting,YounghadalreadyputupanefficientscoringlineagainstGoldenState.
TraeYoungruledoutofgamevs.Warriorswithrightquadcontusion
TheWizards’updatewasstraightforwardandsignificant:Youngwouldnotreturnbecauseofthequadissue.ForaplayerwhoserecentavailabilityhadalreadybeentiedtorecoveryfromarightkneeMCLsprainandquad-relatedtrouble,anynewin-gameright-legupdateisnotable,evenbeforeWashingtonprovidesapostgametimeline.
Washington’stimingalsoaddsurgency.Thiswasnotapregamescratchoraplannedrestnight.Youngwasactive,productiveandthenremovedfromthegameflow,whichiswhytheannouncementquicklybecamethedominantsearchanglearoundtheWizards-Warriorsmatchup.
TraeYoungminutesrestrictionwasalreadyastorylinebeforetipoff
FanshadreasontowatchYoung’sworkloadevenbeforethenewinjuryupdate. Fans were curious how much of a workload he would have before the game. At the time of his exit, he had played 21 minutes.
ThatcontextmakesMonday’sdevelopmentmoreimportantthanatypical “won’treturn”note.Ifaplayerisalreadybeingmanagedcarefullyandthenexitswithanotherrightquadissue,thenextupdatebecomeslessaboutonegameandmoreaboutwhetherWashingtonhastopausehisramp-upagain.Thatisthereal “whytoday?”angleforsearchandforfanstrackingtheWizards’backcourt.Theinferenceisbasedonhisexistingminutescapandpriorleginjurymanagement.
TraeYoungstatsbeforeleavingtheWarriorsgame
Beforebeingruledout,Younghad21pointsin21minutes,shooting7-of-10fromthefield,3-of-5from3-pointrangeand4-of-5fromthefoulline.Healsoaddedfiveassists,tworebounds,onestealandoneblock,showingexactlywhyhispresencechangesWashington’soffensewhenheisavailable.
Fortheseason,NBA.comlistedYoungat17.7points,8.2assistsand2.0reboundspergameenteringMonday.InhisfirstfourgameswithWashington,StatMuselistedhimat13.8points,6.5assistsand3.3reboundspergame,reflectingtheeffectoftheteam’sworkloadmanagementsincehisreturn.
AgainstGoldenStatespecifically,Youngenteredthenightwithcareeraveragesof22.5pointsand9.5assistsin12gamesversustheWarriors,sotherewasrealreasontobelievehecouldimpactthismatchupifhehadstayedonthefloor.