Jalen Johnson’s breakout season is over. The Atlanta Hawks forward will have season-ending shoulder surgery, the team confirmed Wednesday.
Johnson, 23, suffered the shoulder injury during last Thursday’s 122-119 loss against the Toronto Raptors. In 36 appearances this season, he averaged 18.9 points 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 35.7 minutes, all of which are career highs. Johnson is in the mix for an All-Star spot; the reserves will be announced Thursday.
This is a massive blow for the Hawks, who are 22-25 on the season and ninth in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta has lost six straight games, including the game in which Johnson got hurt and the three games that followed.
The Hawks’ recent injury issues have extended beyond Johnson. In their 100-96 loss against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, they were without Zaccharie Risacher (left adductor injury management), Clint Capela (back spasms) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (personal reasons). Bogdanovic didn’t play in their 100-92 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, either, and they were also missing Trae Young (hamstring) in that game. Larry Nance Jr. had surgery on his fractured hand in late December and returned to the lineup in their 117-94 loss against the Raptors last Saturday, but sat out against Minnesota on the first night of a back-to-back.
Johnson, however, might be Atlanta’s most irreplaceable player. With Johnson on the court this season, the Hawks have outscored opponents by 3.1 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage-time minutes. With him off the court, they have been outscored by 9.3 points per 100 possessions. That is the largest on/off differential on the team. Johnson makes Atlanta more versatile on defense, more dangerous in transition and more connected in the halfcourt. He’s second on the team in touches to Young, and the chemistry they’ve developed has changed the identity of the team.
The Hawks could still make the playoffs — and should still make the play-in — without Johnson, but this news is extremely deflating. With apologies to the Great Barrier Thief (Dyson Daniels), Johnson’s emergence has been the most fun storyline in Atlanta. With the Feb. 6 trade deadline around the corner, one wonders if the front office might be more inclined to be sellers at the trade deadline, given that this season’s team has significantly less upside.
The issue with that, however, is that there’s not much to be gained from falling in the standings, either, since Atlanta owes its first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs. Any potential trade would have to be worth it on its merits, rather than as an avenue to a better pick.
