Trae Young’s health and two other X-factors as the Hawks visit the Knicks in the NBA Cup Tournament

The Atlanta Hawks will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Monday.

The Hawks were paused for two days. Hopefully that was enough. They are 2-1 this season despite having so much rest before today’s game.

Their real concern has to be three-time All-Star Trae Young. Young missed just one game, with an Achilles tendon problem that drew the league’s wrath and a fine. He has been available for every game since, despite being listed on the injury report.

Trae Young’s ongoing Achilles problem could be a concern for Hawks

There is some credence to the idea that the Hawks are trolling the league. However, the same change in Young’s play that has earned praise given the Hawks’ recent resurgence could also be an indication of how real the injury actually is.

Young’s performance has not recovered since his return.

It was already following his career trend of ups and downs from season to season – this is a bad year.

Still, Young improved from 39% overall and 33.3% from distance before the injury absence to .379/.287 afterward. At the same time, his assists have increased from 11.5 APG in his first 11 games to 12.8 in his last 13 appearances.

To be clear: Young did it still incredibly effective.

However, the closer one looks, the less his change seems like a coincidence and more like a conscientious effort to mitigate some of the lost onset of the tormenting disease.

Young is considered likely to play in today’s Emirates NBA Cup game against the New York Knicks, but how healthy he is is not yet known. The Hawks need him to prepare for an emotionally charged game on Wednesday.

Young hawks cannot be captured by the atmosphere

The Hawks enter a hornet’s nest. Madison Square Garden always rocks, and the rivalry between the Hawks and Knicks – thanks in large part to Young – has only led to more energy in recent years.

This can’t be the reason the game is turning away from the Hawks.

They need to be strong on both sides, which has been a problem far too often this season.

That becomes more of a challenge if Young can’t generate his own offense with the same effectiveness as he normally does. But at no point can the other Hawks get involved in the moment and do something out of character.

The Hawks have proven they can compete with anyone if they don’t beat themselves.

The Knicks are 5-1 in their last six games and are coming off a day of rest. They might also still be upset about their loss to the Hawks in Atlanta, after which Young trolled Knicks fans.

There are financial motivationa return to the win column as well as bragging rights in one of the more entertaining modern rivalries. All of this together sets the stage for another thriller for the ages.

The Hawks know their next opponent, regardless of the result against the Knicks

There were opinions about it Rest advantage Teams that failed to qualify for this round of the NBA Cup, many of which still played draws against lower-caliber opponents, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer on December 10.

The Hawks can take comfort in knowing who will win or lose against the Knicks.

A win means the Hawks will face the Milwaukee Bucks.

If the Hawks lose, they will face the Orlando Magic, who are ranked higher than the Bucks in the season standings but are more struggling. However, the Hawks certainly have the earlier result in mind and beat the Bucks in their first game this season.