Big season for Hawks hinges on Jalen Johnson’s health

I winced when Amen Thompson launched his body into Jalen Johnson’s left shoulder. Johnson flexed at his Hawks teammates on the bench after brushing aside Thompson and finishing the transition basket with his left hand.

No need to worry. Johnson’s shoulder is sound, and his performance was sharp during the exhibition opener Monday in Houston. Now, Johnson just needs to finish the season healthy for the Hawks to make a deep playoff run in the wide-open Eastern Conference.

If Johnson does that, he could form a Big Three with point guard Trae Young and big man Kristaps Porziņģis. The Hawks probably have enough depth to get by if Young or Porziņģis end up on the injured list for an extended time. They don’t have anyone to fill in for Johnson, the do-everything forward.

“I’m just focusing on getting better as a team,” Johnson said before the start of training camp. “All the outside noise and expectations, I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about everybody in the locker room and the people I have to work with.”

Johnson won’t reach his potential unless he’s more durable. Since becoming a rotation regular in 2022-23, Johnson has played in only 162 of a possible 246 games. He was on the injured list to end each of the past two seasons and wasn’t available for the play-in games.

Johnson said rebuilding the strength in his shoulder was a “slow process that allowed me to take a step back and take it day-by-day.” By all accounts, Johnson hit the court with gusto once he was cleared.

“Jalen is a worker,” teammate Onyeka Okongwu said. “He’s humble, genuine. This summer I was with him, we played together, and I was just happy to see him out there having fun.

“I know he’s dealt with so much injury in his career. I’m just praying for him to be healthy this year.”

Lots of Hawks fans probably are doing the same. They saw Johnson blossom into a top-tier player before he hurt his shoulder last season. Johnson averaged 18.9 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, 1.6 steals and one block, with a 54.1 effective field-goal percentage.

Johnson obviously isn’t on their level. Jokić and Gilgeous-Alexander are better, more efficient scorers while serving as the focal points for their teams. But they also have much more experience than Johnson, who is only 23 and with only 184 games played. Jokić has played 745 games and Gilgeous-Alexander 462.

Johnson already is producing similar numbers as those two, suggesting that his ceiling is at least All-Star player.

“‘Young’ is a relative concept on our team, but I would throw Jalen in the young bucket, and I think he understands that,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “But you can still be good when you are young, and he’s that. The key for Jalen is to be efficient. Because of his versatility he can impact the game in a lot of ways.”

That’s why I wrote off the Hawks once Johnson had shoulder surgery. No one else does all that he can do at his size (6-foot-9 with 7-foot wingspan). Johnson also had the best defensive rating on the team. He was the one guy the Hawks couldn’t afford to lose for a long period.

That’s how it played out. After winning 11 of 14 games spanning November and December with Johnson doing it all, the Hawks lost eight of the 11 games he missed in January. Their offense and defense suffered without Johnson for the rest of the season.

“Obviously, I wanted to be out there,” Johnson said. “But I’m healthy now. I’m just excited to get the season going. I’m excited to put the past behind me and continue to move forward.”

There are two obvious areas where Johnson can improve: shooting and decision-making with the ball.

Johnson made only 32% of his 3-point tries last season, down from 36% in 2023-24. He can help unlock the offense by making more of his spot-up attempts and forcing opposing teams to defend more of the court. Johnson’s turnover rate also spiked last season. That tends to happen to young players as their roles increase.

Johnson’s and-1 against Thompson in Houston highlighted the most consistent part of his game. Few of the league’s players are harder to handle in transition.

“He’s an elite defensive rebounder, so when he grabs it off the rim and pushes it and either attacks the rim or passes it, it’s pretty hard to guard,” Snyder said. “I want him to do more than that. He wants to do more than that. His teammates want him to do more than that.”

Said Johnson, “I just want to be a well-rounded basketball player.”