Is Trae Young playing tonight? Exploring Hawks guard's participation in preseason game vs Pacers

The Indiana Pacers travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Tuesday with talented guard Trae Young set to feature for the home team. Indiana and Atlanta will both tip off their preseasons in an evening game at the State Farm Arena. This promises to be a fascinating matchup between two Eastern conference rivals with All-Stars Trae Young and Tyrese Haliburton set to go head-to-head.

Young looks healthy and ready to go for the 2024/25 season. He will be keen to guide Atlanta back to the playoffs after an underwhelming 36-46 record last season.

The preseason offers coaches a chance to take a look at a team's younger and fringe players. Young is expected to play, but could see limited minutes, as is common for many high-profile players in the preseason.

The Hawks enter the campaign with a new-look roster, and with the departure of his former backcourt partner, Dejounte Murray, Young will be called on to play a bigger role.

Veteran center Cody Zeller and Larry Nance Jr. have been brought it to add some bodies in the paint. Former New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard Dyson Daniel, 21, is an exciting prospect. The Hawks also had the first pick in the NBA draft this year and selected highly touted French forward Zaccharie Risacher.

Despite the Hawks' disappointing 2023-24 season, Young is coming off another impressive year from a personal standpoint. The 26-year-old sharshooter led the roster in points (25.7) and assists (10.8), and finished second in the team in steals (1.3).

Trae Young was impressed with No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher at NBA summer league

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young dribbles past Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann at State Farm Arena. Photo Credit: Imagn

The Atlanta Hawks have high hopes for 2024 first pick Zaccharie Risacher. At just 19 years old, Risacher is a young prospect and will continue to develop, but Young saw many positives from the French forward over the summer.

During a summer league game between the Hawks and San Antonio Spurs in July, Young sat down with ESPN and talked up Risacher qualities:

"He is talented, he is smart, he can make the right reads and I know our coach Quin (Snyder) has told him to be aggressive. ... He is a smart player and he is going to be really good in this league."

A lot of Atlanta's success in the upcoming season will depend on if Risacher and Trae Young can build and maintain a chemistry on the court. The Hawks will hope that the rookie can be the perfect complementary piece for Young, who has been the key scorer for the Hawks offense over the past five seasons.