Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce has been reluctant to name his starting point guard, but he did so without hesitation Monday.
Rookie Trae Young will start his first regular-season NBA game alongside expected starters Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, Vince Carter and Alex Lin.
The Atlanta Hawks face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden Wednesday to open the 2018-19 season.
Young, the No. 5 pick, started all five of the Hawks preseason games at point guard and averaged 15.0 points, 5.4 assists, 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.2 turnovers in 24.6 minutes over the stretch. He shot .394 (26 of 66) from the field, including .370 (10 of 27) from 3-point range.
The Hawks traded for veteran point guard Jeremy Lin, who will come off the bench to start the season after he missed most of the past two years due to injury.
Carter, a 23-year veteran, will start at power forward in place of John Collins, who will miss at least the first three games with a left ankle injury. Len will start at center for Dewayne Dedmon, who is returning from an ankle injury and was back at Hawks practice Monday.
