Hawks vs Knicks: RJ Barrett's Status for Tonight's Game Revealed

The Hawks had a hard time stopping Barrett in their last meeting

Coming into the day, the matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks had two big questions hanging over it. Trae Young missed the game against the Pistons last night because of his family welcoming in their second child and the Knicks added RJ Barrett to the injury report and he was questionable coming into the game. 

This morning, Young was taken off the injury report and will be available to play tonight for Atlanta. That left the question about Barrett as the one thing left hanging over this game and that was just answered. 

Barrett is going to be out for tonight's game. He had a great game against Atlanta last last time these two played each other. I would anticipate Josh Hart getting the start in his place, but the starting lineups have yet to be released

RJ Barrett is out for the Knicks tonight.

He was listed as questionable.

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) November 15, 2023

The key battle tonight in this game is going to be between the Hawks' offense and the Knicks' defense. Atlanta has one of the top offenses in the NBA, but they are going to run into one of the NBA's best defenses tonight and one of the top rebounding teams.

Atlanta is fourth in the NBA in PPG (120.9), 13th in field goal percentage, 18th in three-point field goal percentage, 9th in rebounding, sixth in steals per game, and 22nd in turnovers per game. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 5th in points per 100 possessions, 12th in effective field goal percentage, 4th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 3rd in free throw rate. If Young does not play, it will be up to Dejounte Murray to be able to lead the offense again and he will need help from the supporting cast that includes Bogdanovic, Hunter, and Johnson. Capela and Johnson have helped the Hawks become one of the top rebounding teams in the NBA, but they will have their hands full with Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle.

Tipoff is set for 7:30 tonight in Atlanta. 

Hawks vs Knicks: Trae Young's Status for Tonight's Game Revealed

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