Atlanta Hawks breakout player Jalen Johnson suffers a demoralizing injury that will likely keep him out for six weeks.
The Atlanta Hawks have gotten off to an uneven start to the season. After winning four of their first six games, the Hawks have gone 4-5 since. Just when it seems and feels as if the Hawks are beginning to turn the corner on the season, they fall into a losing streak. And just when it feels like they're letting go of the rope, they manage to recover.
Just like as of late in which they've won two games in a row. However, the Hawks may have just suffered a huge hit to their season. After suffering a left wrist injury in the team's win Saturday against the Washington Wizards, it's been revealed that breakout wing Jalen Johnson is set to miss 4-to-6 weeks with the injury.
The good news is that it's not broken or fractured, which likely would've cost him months if not the entire season. Still, losing Johnson for what could end up being six weeks of action is going to hurt the Hawks as they look to make a move up the Eastern Conference standings.
The Atlanta Hawks' early-season struggles
Through the first month of the season, the Hawks have largely been inconsistent. One big reason is the struggles of Trae Young. Even though he's begun to play better as of late, he's still not playing at the level he was a couple of seasons ago when he helped lead the Hawks to a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Through the first month, or so, of the season, Young is still averaging a respectable 26 points and 11 assists per game but his overall shooting efficiency is down significantly. But the emergence of Johnson this season has helped keep the Hawks somewhat afloat.
In his third season in the league, Johnson is averaging 14 points and seven rebounds on 59 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from 3-point range. He's also been one of the team's best defenders on the other end of the floor.
Johnson has been a pleasant surprise for the Hawks and gives the teams more flexibility on the wing as they explore how they want to proceed forward. This is an extremely important season for Atlanta. If they can't turn the corner and string together a few more wins than losses, it will bring about more identity questions for their future.
At least for now, it seems as if Johnson is the real deal. And hopefully, he can be a similar type of player when he returns from injury.