Jalen Johnson's ankle injury sidelines him again during Hawks' play-in tournament pursuit

21/03/2024 18:06

Health has been a major factor in the Atlanta Hawks’ inability to find success this season. Not only has All-Star Trae Young been shut down after undergoing finger surgery in February, but now the Hawks are once again dealing with an injury to breakout forward Jalen Johnson. In Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Johnson suffered a sprained right ankle, an injury that the team says will sideline him for approximately one week before he is re-evaluated by medical personnel.

Johnson previously missed three straight games last week as a result of his injured right ankle. In the three games he has played since returning from what the team believed to be a minor injury, Johnson averaged 23.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting about 42 percent from the floor. The 22-year-old forward has played at least 32 minutes in each of his last three games.

With the Hawks being decimated by injuries all throughout the year, Johnson has been one of the main beneficiaries, given his increased role and minutes. The fact that Atlanta traded John Collins to the Utah Jazz prior to the start of the season also opened up a much larger role for Johnson in the team’s nightly rotations.

As a result of Young, Saddiq Bey, Wesley Matthews, and others being injured, Johnson emerged as one of the Hawks’ best scoring options alongside former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. He currently ranks inside the top five on the team in total minutes played, and his 328 made shots this season rank fourth only behind Young, Murray, and sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Without Johnson, the Hawks are now left even thinner in their frontcourt than they already were. His contributions have been vital this season, which is why Atlanta’s hopes of making the play-in tournament are slowly vanishing.

Jalen Johnson’s breakout season

Johnson is currently in his third season with the Hawks since being drafted 20th overall by the team in 2021. Entering the league as a very young athlete with a ton of potential, the Hawks worked closely with Johnson in order to refine his craft before inserting him into their rotation.

After some big performances late in the 2022-23 season, Johnson sent a clear signal to the Hawks’ front office that he was one of the young players they needed to begin building with. This led to Collins being dealt in the offseason and Johnson becoming the team’s starting power forward.

This has been a breakout season for Johnson. In a total of 51 games, he has averaged 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from three-point range. When he runs in transition, very few players in this league can keep up with the young forward. Regarding his athleticism, Johnson has put numerous opponents on posters this season, most recently captivating the eyes of the league with a dunk over Lakers guard Austin Reaves.

Due to his massive leap this season, Johnson has been in the running for the league’s Most Improved Player award. Unfortunately, he has missed a total of 17 games to this point. His week-long absence will now make him ineligible to be in contention for this award due to the league’s 65-game minimum rule that was put into effect this year.

Nonetheless, Johnson has still been one of the most improved players across the entire NBA. He will enter the offseason in the final year of his rookie contract and be eligible to sign a rookie-scale contract extension. It is expected that the Hawks will look to keep the 22-year-old around long-term.

Whether or not Johnson can return this season is yet to be determined. The Hawks are currently 30-38, making them 4.5 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for the final Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament spot.

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