The Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns are about to tip-off tonight at State Farm Arena and both teams just announced their starting lineups.
Jalen Johnson and De'Andre Hunter are both out for the Hawks tonight. Expect the bench unit to be composed of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu, Garrison Matthews, and David Roddy.
The Hawks travel to Chicago to face the Bulls tomorrow after taking on the Suns tonight. That will be the next opportunity for Johnson to play for the Hawks.
January has not been as kind to the Hawks and while it might seem simplistic to boil it down to one reason, the absence of Jalen Johnson has been the reason the Hawks have started the month of January and the 2025 calendar year 1-4. When the Hawks started their six-game road trip at the end of December, they began it with a blowout win over the Toronto Raptors and Johnson was solid in that game, scoring 15 points. The Hawks went to Denver on New Year's Day and that was the first game that Johnson missed during this current absence and it was noticeable.
The Hawks were blown out by the Nuggets and then Johnson came back, but his presence did not make a difference in a loss to the Lakers. That was the last time that Johnson played a game for the Hawks. Since then, Atlanta has been blown out by the Clippers, survived against Utah thanks to a Trae Young halfcourt buzzer-beater, and then lost to the Suns. The Hawks have gone from 18-15 to 19-19 over this stretch.
It is hard to overstate how much he means to the team. Johnson is a terrific rebounder and helps with rim protection, a good on-ball defender, and is the Hawks' second-best offensive creator. He is making a legitimate case to be an All-Star this season with the numbers that he is putting up. He is averaging 19.8 PPG, 10.1 RPG, and 5.3 APG on 51% shooting from the field and 33% from three. He also has an effective field goal percentage of 56% and a true shooting percentage of 58%.
Atlanta does not have a replacement for Johnson when he is gone and that is one of the biggest holes on the team. Not only do they not have a real backup power forward behind him, one of the Hawks's other weaknesses is that they don't have a reliable backup point guard. When Johnson is out of the lineup, Atlanta loses their best frontcourt player, and one of their best ball handlers as well. He has the highest plus/minus (+2.4) on the team for a reason.
Hawks vs Suns: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game
New Blockbuster Trade Proposal Sees Hawks Land One Of The Top Guards Available