Star point guard Trae Young has gotten off to a strong start to the 2024-25 NBA season, leading the Hawks to a 2-0 record ahead of their upcoming contest vs the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday evening. The Thunder are 2-0 in their own right on the young season and project to be among the best teams in the league this year, making it a good early season test for the Hawks.

If that wasn't difficult enough, further complicating matters for the Hawks is that they will be potentially without two key pieces for the matchup, as 2024 Sixth Man of the Year candidate Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss his second straight game due to right hamstring tendinopathy, while small forward De'Andre Hunter is questionable with right knee inflammation, per Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Joining the pair of wings on the injury report are Dominick Barlow (not with team), Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation), Seth Lundy (left ankle sprain), and Cody Zeller (not with team), each of whom will miss the contest.

Now, Atlanta is getting some important information on the rationale for the injury designations of Hunter and Bogdanovic.

“Hawks mostly being careful w Bogie from what I'm told, might see same with Hunter — front end of b2b, long season ahead, history of issues, etc.,” reported John Hollinger of The Athletic.

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Bogdanovic and Hunter have indeed both dealt with various leg injuries over the course of their Hawks careers that have limited the impact they've been able to make on the court.

Hunter enjoyed a strong game on Friday at home vs the Charlotte Hornets, scoring 22 points in the victory, while Bogdanovic had a rough game in the lone contest he's appeared in this season, Wednesday vs the Brooklyn Nets.

If Hunter misses the game on Sunday, it's possible that Atlanta could opt to start rookie small forward Zaccharie Risacher, who hasn't played excellent so far in his NBA career but has all of the tools teams are looking for in a prototypical three and D wing.

In any case, the Hawks and Thunder are slated to tip off at 7:00 PM ET.