The Atlanta Hawks are facing the Brooklyn Nets tonight and were rolling in the first quarter. Near the end of the quarter, Hawks star point guard Trae Young went down with an injury when forward Mouhamed Gueye fell into Young’s leg.
Young attempted to stay in the game, but then trotted back to the locker room. Shortly after, the Hawks announced that Young would be out for the remainder of the game with a right knee sprain
An @emoryhealthcare injury update:
Trae Young (right knee sprain) will not return to tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/nsKFxLnq8I
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 30, 2025
To put it nicely, the Hawks missing Trae Young for any period of time would be devastating. Young has been one of the most durable players in the NBA over his tenure and the Hawks don’t really have a solution behind him. Expect to see Dyson Daniels, Luke Kennard, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson, and Vit Krejci to take turns with ball handling responsibilities.
Keep an eye out for more updates regarding Young’s injury.
So what is plaguing the Hawks in their first four games? Our own Rohan Raman took a deeper look at the numbers in today’s preview:
“The Hawks’ offense is steadily taking steps forward. They’re 25th in points, 21st in FG%, 21st in 3P%, 18th in FT%, 28th in rebounds (21st in OREB), 10th in assists and 4th in turnovers per game. Despite the poor numbers, Atlanta just broke 120+ points during their game with Chicago against a very tough Bulls defense. Trae Young teams have also been a virtual lock for above-average offensive production throughout his career, so expect the Hawks to keep climbing up the offensive rankings.
Their transition defense and rim protection continue to hold them back on defense and the Bulls just torched them from deep. On a per-game basis, Atlanta ranks 20th in points allowed, 27th in FG% allowed, 7th in 3P% allowed, 27th in rebounds allowed, 23rd in steals and 18th in blocks. So far, the improvements they’ve theoretically made to the defense have not shone through.
Despite their record, the Nets are a thoroughly mediocre offense. They rank 21st in points, 19th in FG%, 14th in 3P%, 12th in FT%, 30th in rebounds (12th in OREB), 17th in assists and 13th in turnovers per game. Brooklyn has legitimate scoring options like Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr, but they sorely lack the high-level shotmaking or passing necessary for offensive consistency.
The defense has been the real struggle. While the Hawks’ defense has been bad, the Nets’ defense is catastrophic. They’re 30th in points allowed, 30th in FG% allowed, 30th in 3P% allowed, 10th in rebounds allowed, 26th in steals and 30th in blocks. They have no real perimeter defense to speak of and that’s led to opposing lineups getting whatever they want against Brooklyn’s defense.”
