Hawks’ Jalen Johnson ‘felt good being back up’ in first exhibition outing
Getting back on the court felt good for Hawks forward Jalen Johnson.
For the first time since January, the 23-year-old forward got to play competitive basketball Monday. While some players need an adjustment and to get their feet back under them, for Johnson it’s just basketball.
“I mean, that’s a true statement to some degree, but at the end of the day, it is just basketball,” Johnson said when asked whether all the training compared with live play. “I’ve played in plenty of games before, playing NBA games, I know how the flow goes. So it took a little bit of adjustment in the first quarter just kind of just getting back to the flow of things. Obviously, you can rep stuff all day, but when the game came, it took me a little time to get adjusted.
“But overall, it felt great. It felt good being back up.”
In the Hawks’ first exhibition game of the season, Johnson scored 11 points and had two rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in 17 minutes of action.
With 4:22 left in the first quarter, Johnson caught a push-ahead pass from Dyson Daniels, then took a full-body bump from the Rockets’ Amen Thompson to his left shoulder. Johnson drew the foul and made the layup with his left hand after absorbing the contact.
“It felt good being able to take those contact bumps,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a great sign. Obviously, it was on the shoulder that I had surgery. So that was good. So yeah, it felt good just playing physical. That’s how we want to play. So I was repping it in practice all the time. So just being able to translate to the game was good.”
After one half, Johnson reminded us why he is so important to what the Hawks want to do this season. He pushes the pace, gets out in front so the Hawks can execute their transition game and defends at a high level.
“It’s just translating what we’re getting taught (defensively) into live reps,” Johnson said. “I think (coach Quin Snyder) is challenging me on the defensive end, and I like a good challenge like that. So, I want to hold myself to that challenge. I want my teammates to hold me to that standard. So, just being able to do it consistently, not just when I’m fresh, even when I’m tired, to be able to defend at a high level too.”
His athleticism popped on the defensive end with him blocking Rockets’ Tari Eason with 4:56 to play in the second quarter.
The Hawks added pieces to the roster that help elevate the team’s defense over the last couple of seasons. They acquired Daniels last offseason and brought aboard Nickeil Alexander-Walker this year.
Those additions, like Johnson, help raise the level of play and make everyone around them better.
“It’s really pick your poison at that point,” Johnson said when asked who was the better defender between Daniels and Alexander-Walker. “They both pick up 94 feet. They both, I don’t know, it’s tough to pick between them. They both are similar in a lot of ways, but elite. That’s the best way to put it.”
Johnson and the Hawks lost their first exhibition game Monday, but they still have time to keep building chemistry. The regular season does not begin until Oct. 22, but everyone has bought in.
“It’s just a question of developing habits,” Snyder said. “And that’s a collective thing that our guys have bought into. What we’re doing makes sense to them, and just got to keep working on it.”
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