Hawks' Trae Young Ruled out vs. Clippers with Thigh Injury

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young will miss Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers because of a right thigh contusion, according to team reporter Kevin Chouinard.

The Hawks will start veteran point guard Jeff Teague in Young's place alongside Kevin Huerter, De'Andre Hunter, John Collins and Bruno Fernando, Chouinard added.

In his second NBA season, Young has emerged as one of the most dynamic offensive players in basketball. He's averaging 29.2 points, 8.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 35.1 minutes across 40 starts and is well on his way to making his first All-Star Game.

"He's an All-Star," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters. "And I'll tell you firsthand, as a coach who votes, it's hard to vote for teams with our record, it really is. It's hard to vote against a guy with his numbers. And I don't want to knock the East, but I can't imagine there's any other players (that are) playing better basketball than Trae Young. 

"We would love to be in a position where our record helps him, more than anything, because Trae being at the All-Star event helps our organization, helps our team. We're excited, we're proud, we want him to be there." 

Young's brilliance has not translated to wins for the Hawks, who are 10-34 coming into Wednesday. Injuries have been a problem after being mostly healthy for the first half of the season, as Young missed one game due to a hamstring injury in January.

Brandon Goodwin will see an uptick in playing time with Young out.