Atlanta Hawks Update Trae Young's Playing Status Ahead of Tonight's Game vs New Orleans

Trae Young was questionable coming into tonight's game vs New Orleans but has been downgraded to out

Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) in action against the New Orleans Pelicans in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Trae Young was listed as questionable heading into tonight's game vs New Orleans, but he has already been ruled out. This is going to be the sixth straight game missed for Young.

An @emoryhealthcare injury update:

Onyeka Okongwu (illness): Questionable

Trae Young (right quad contusion): Out
N’Faly Dante (right knee, torn ACL): Out https://t.co/c23GD0azEY

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 7, 2026

The other notable addition to the injury report is starting center Onyeka Okongwu, who is now questionable to play due to an illness. If Okongwu does not play, expect to see Kristaps Porzingis to start and more minutes for forwards Mouhamed Gueye and Asa Newell.

For the Pelicans, they are on the second night of a back-to-back, having lost to the Lakers last night, and both Trey Murphy II and Herb Jones are questionable. Those would be two big question marks for the Pelicans.

Hawks Need to Win

Jan 5, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) passes the ball away from Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) in the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Hawks need to win this game tonight for multiple reasons. For starters, they don't want to fall completely out of the play-in/playoff race and second, they own the Pelicans draft pick next summer. Currently, the Pelicans have the second worst record in the NBA and are on an eight game losing streak.

Our own Rohan Raman had this to say about tonight's matchup:

"In their last two games, the Hawks went against one of the best defenses in the NBA and were totally unprepared for the physicality that the Raptors played with. Toronto is 8th in opponent points in the paint, indicating how they were capable of closing off the paint for Atlanta despite the lack of a true center. The matchup gets a lot easier tonight. The Pelicans don't have a true rim protector on the roster, and as a result, they're 28th in opponent points in the paint. It's an excellent opportunity for Onyeka Okongwu, who unfortunately missed the last game against New Orleans with an ankle injury. He's shooting an above-average 72% at the rim this season.

One of the keys to Atlanta's win against the Pelicans earlier this season was turnovers. They decisively won the turnover battle, 18-7, and that played a massive role in their ability to control the game. Jeremiah Fears has been an overall positive for New Orleans, but he does have a TOV% of 13.8% (33rd percentile among all guards). Queen, who leads the Pelicans in AST%, also has an extremely high TOV% of 16.2% (25th percentile among all bigs). If they can replicate that formula against New Orleans tonight, this could be a blowout.

Kristaps Porzingis will be in the lineup for the Hawks again tonight, and that is a major positive for the Hawks, considering how excellent he was against the Pelicans in their last game. Porzingis led all scorers with 30 points on a blistering 11-17 shooting line in that game and also chipped in 7 rebounds to go with four assists on zero turnovers. They had no answer for him, and there's every reason for him to bounce back after a quiet showing against Toronto."