The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Brooklyn Nets 117-112 on Wednesday night to improve to 2-3 on the young season. 

However, the Hawks’ franchise point guard, Trae Young, suffered a concerning injury in the process, forcing him to exit the contest early (he netted six points in seven minutes) and negatively affecting his status for the organization’s Friday night clash against the Indiana Pacers. 

Why Trae Young isn’t playing vs. the Pacers

While it’s been reported that Young doesn’t have an ACL injury, the former lottery pick’s injury is far from minor.

“Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young has no issues with his ACL after leaving Wednesday night’s 117-112 win over the Brooklyn Nets with a right knee sprain,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported Wednesday. 

“The most important thing is it is not his ACL. He’s going to get an MRI tonight or tomorrow, and make a determination from there. Not sure how long or what respect, but something he’s hopefully going to be back from whenever possible.”

Shortly after Bontemps’ report, the Hawks announced that Young’s right knee sprain would make him unavailable on Friday night.

With the Hawks already off to a rocky start to the year despite having relatively high expectations, it isn’t ideal for the franchise to compete (even for just one game) without their No. 1 shot creator and playmaker. 

It’ll be interesting to see how the Hawks fare against the Pacers and potentially the next few games with Young sidelined.

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