Earlier this week, Dejounte Murray and the Atlanta Hawks put together perhaps the most surprising two-game stretch of this entire NBA season by defeating the Boston Celtics–who own the NBA’s best record by a country mile–two times in a row in the friendly confines of State Farm Arena in Atlanta. First, on Monday, the Hawks overcame a 30-point deficit in knocking off a visibly stunned Celtics squad, and then on Thursday, Murray channeled the late Kobe Bryant by launching 44 shots to score 44 points, including the game-winning basket in overtime to send Boston off to New Orleans as losers of two straight.
Making matters even more impressive for the Hawks was that they were able to pick up these two wins–with a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers sandwiched in between–with several key players injured, including point guard Trae Young, center Onyeka Okongwu, and starting power forward Jalen Johnson, among others. Johnson has been sidelined for almost two weeks after sustaining a sprained ankle during a recent game vs the Los Angeles Lakers, but if the latest reports are any indication, the former Duke Blue Devil could be nearing a return to the lineup as soon as Saturday’s game vs the Milwaukee Bucks at home.
According to the Hawks’ official injury report, which the team released on Friday afternoon on their account on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter, Johnson is officially being listed as questionable for the game against the Bucks, the first time since the injury was sustained that he hasn’t been listed as out.
The Hawks will be welcoming in what figures to be a frustrated Bucks squad to State Farm Arena, as Milwaukee has lost two straight games, first to the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers, and then to the New Orleans Pelicans.
A breakout year for Jalen Johnson
Although Dejounte Murray may have solidified his case over the last few weeks, at one point in the 2023-24 season, there was a legitimate argument to be made that Jalen Johnson was the second-best player on the poorly constructed Hawks roster behind only superstar point guard Trae Young. All of the glimpses and flashes that Johnson had shown over his first two years in the league, during which his playing time was sporadic at best, have manifested so far this year, with the third-year wing combining his unteachable size and athleticism with improved court vision and the ability to run fast breaks by himself, a dimension that former Hawks power forward John Collins was never quite able to bring to the table.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are currently in the process of trying to steal the number nine seed away from the Chicago Bulls for the presumptive Play-In game that will take place between the two teams in a couple of weeks. If successful, Atlanta would play at home for that game as opposed to having to go on the road.
In any case, the Hawks and Bucks are slated to tip off at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday.
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