Atlanta Hawks Face Early Season Test Without Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks are dealing with their first major hurdle of the season. They will be without their star point guard for the next four weeks as Trae Young went down over the weekend with a sprained MCL. 

Shams Charania of ESPN broke the news.

“Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young sustained a sprained MCL in his right knee and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, sources tell ESPN. Young underwent an MRI on Friday and multiple doctor reviews that showed he dodged major structural damage in the knee.”

Because the Hawks’ system is so heavily reliant on Trae’s offense and playmaking, the Hawks are going to need to switch things up with him out of the lineup. They were able to beat a depleted Pacers team without Young, but fell to the Cavaliers on Sunday night. 

The Hawks are only 3-4 and are the 9th seed in a fairly weak Eastern Conference. They need to make sure they can stay afloat without Young in the lineup or else they could have a lot to make up for once he returns. 

The Hawks only played six games without Young last year, but were fairly successful, going 4-2. One strategy the Hawks have taken when Young is out is to become a fully defensively focused squad. 

Players like Onyeka Okongwu, Dyson Daniels, and Jalen Johnson can all be elite defensively, and without Young in the lineup, that is the identity the Hawks should take. Still, missing your top offensive producer is hard to make up for. Everyone on the Hawks roster will need to step up in Trae’s absence or things could get ugly in Atlanta.