The Atlanta Hawks Really Miss Jalen Johnson

Johnson is currently out with a wrist injury

Injuries are an unfortunate part of basketball and for the Hawks, the injury bug has struck already this season. 

Last Saturday in a blowout win over the Washington Wizards, starting forward Jalen Johnson injured his wrist and when he got hurt, it looked like he might be out for a while. Johnson is going to be out for a few weeks, but the impact on the Hawks has been pretty apparent through the first four games of his absence. 

No. 1 is the Hawks's inability to match up with a lot of teams. Johnson gave them the ability to be versatile on defense, something that Saddiq Bey does not do. Johnson matched up well with bigger and more athletic forwards like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Evan Mobley, and he would have been a useful player to try and guard Victor Wembanyama when the Hawks played the Spurs on Thursday. Even if he did not guard Wembanayama, he would have been able to guard Zach Collins at center and allowed Clint Capela to guard the Spurs rookie forward. 

Atlanta misses Jalen Johnson on the defensive end / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Let's take a look at Atlanta's numbers with Johnson on and off the floor. 

Per Cleaning the Glass, Johnson ranks in the 92nd percentile in points per 100 possessions allowed when he is on the floor and the Hawks defense is 8.4 points better. He ranks even better when it comes to effective field goal percentage allowed, ranking in the 96th percentile. The Hawks are a struggling defense even with Johnson, but they are much worse without him and lose a lot of versatility. 

Without Johnson, the Hawks have started Saddiq Bey in his place and the defense is much worse with Bey on the court. Bey is one of the Hawks's worst defenders and Atlanta allows 3.7 more points when he is one floor.

Earlier this week, Snyder talked about how the Hawks can't do as much defensively without Johnson:

More Snyder: "We talk about defense with our team. We're not always the best defensive team. But we're going to improve if we keep working. There's some limitations. There's no question about that right now with JJ out."

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) December 1, 2023

So what do the Hawks do until Johnson can return? 

The answer is not a lot. 

Unless the Hawks make a trade, they will either keep starting Bey or they could experiment with starting Onyeka Okongwu alongside Clint Capela. They don't use those lineups often, but OKongwu would be a better matchup against players like Giannis and Wembanyama. 

Or they could make a big splash trade. 

Should the Hawks trade for Pascal Siakam? / © Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.com, Atlanta continues to monitor Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam as a potenital trade target.

Here is what Scotto had to say about the potential trade:

"The Atlanta Hawks continue to monitor Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam as a potential trade target after attempting to acquire him during the offseason, league sources told HoopsHype.

While Atlanta was unable to acquire Siakam over the summer, Jalen Johnson has emerged as an early Most Improved Player candidate, averaging career-highs in points (14.1) on 59.4 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc with 7.3 rebounds as the starting forward before suffering a left wrist injury that could sideline him 4-to-6 weeks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“Jalen Johnson has been their third best player this year behind Trae Young and Dejounte Murray,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype.

Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter was among the players discussed during the Siakam talks, and his $20 million salary and versatility on both sides of the ball playing both forward spots at times makes him a trade candidate to watch in a potential deal.

Another Hawks frontcourt player, center Clint Capela, was linked to the Mavericks this offseason, but with the emergence of rookie center Derrick Lively, Dallas’ trade interest in Capela has since faded. However, after signing Onyeka Okongwu to an extension, some rival executives believe Capela could be used as a trade chip again before the February trade deadline.

Patty Mills and his $6.8 million expiring contract is a noteworthy trade chip that could also be included to match salaries."

Whatever happens, it does not change the fact the Hawks are better with Johnson and nobody on the roster can bring what he does. He was in the most-improved player discussion for a reason and the Hawks are going to love it when he does return. 

Report: Atlanta Hawks Monitoring Pascal Siakam as a Potential trade target

Follow Jackson on X here: @jacksoncaudell

Follow Hawks coverage on Facebook here: All Hawks