Grant Williams and Marcus Smart to start vs. Hawks, Trae Young out

Things just got a lot easier for the Boston Celtics in their matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, as Atlanta will be without All-Star point guard Trae Young on Friday night as the two teams face each other in Boston. Per Basketball Reference, Young has averaged 31.0 points and 8.5 assists per game against the Celtics this season, shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from three.

The Hawks will also be without recently acquired center Clint Capela, along with a myriad of other players, including the defensive-minded DeAndre’ Bembry. Though Boston will be without two starters in Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward, it appears Atlanta will be even more short-handed.

An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tonight’s game vs. the Celtics:

DeAndre’ Bembry: Out
Clint Capela: Out
Dewayne Dedmon: Out
Bruno Fernando: Out
Skal Labissiere: Out
Cam Reddish: Out
Trae Young: Out pic.twitter.com/Beh50drHJx

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 8, 2020

Also of note is that Celtics rookie forward Grant Williams will start his fourth game of the season on Friday, with Boston hoping that his defensive savvy and decision-making will — at least incrementally — help them overcome the absence of Hayward. Guard Marcus Smart, who has returned from injury along with Kemba Walker, will also start.