Young's absence ignites questions about Atlanta's chances and Toronto's opportunity to exploit the Hawks' weakened lineup in an Eastern Conference clash.
The Atlanta Hawks will be without Trae Young again for their Monday night contest with the Toronto Raptors, which will serve as the Hawks' second consecutive matchup against Toronto. Young is dealing with a quadricep injury and has been out for the past several games.
Brad Rowland for Locked on Hawks was first with the report. Monday's game will be the fifth game Young has missed with this quad injury, and it isn't too far removed from a right knee sprain, which kept Young out for the majority of the season to this point.
The good news for the Hawks is that Young's absence will bring larger roles to point guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson, who have been carrying the freight on offense and propelled Atlanta to a couple of wins in the last week.
There have been multiple reports over the last month that indicate the Hawks might be willing to trade Young, and those talks are expected to materialize as the NBA trade deadline looms.
Young has played in just 10 games for the Hawks this season and is averaging 19.3 points per game and 8.9 assists. He is a four-time All-Star and is currently in an important contract year. The injuries piling up, and the constant lapses on defense are starting to become a concern in Young's game.
As for the Hawks being without Young, they won back-to-back games against top contenders in the Timberwolves and Knicks just last week, but then lost to the Raptors 134-117 on Saturday night.
Atlanta will play the Raptors again on Monday, and Toronto seems to have the Hawks' number this season. Atlanta is 17-20 and 10th in the Eastern Conference, while the Raptors have been playing complementary basketball all season and hold a 21-15 record.
The Hawks' defense appeared to be better in Friday night's contest against the Knicks by only giving up 99 points, but did not have much time to rest as they played the Raptors the next night and gave up 134.
Atlanta will now have to rely on backup guards Keaton Wallace and Vit Krejčí to get more minutes and control the pace of the offense when Alexander-Walker is sitting out. The Hawks have seen a good amount of success running the offense through Jalen Johnson, but that will once again be put to the test when the Hawks face off against the Raptors on Monday.