Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Johnson among players on injury report against Thunder
on Saturday, Atlanta Hawks will take over defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Meanwhile, two of their best players remain on the injured list.
currently, Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Johnson are listed as questionable before the game, according to the NBA’s injured list. Johnson is battling a sprained right ankle while Porzingis is struggling comes out of the fight with flu-like symptoms.
The Hawks’ only player is Zachary Rizaher with a sprained right ankle. Atlanta split its first two games of the season and faces a Thunder team off to a 2-0 start.
On Wednesday, Porzingis scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 138-118 loss to the Toronto Raptors. In the same game, Johnson scored 22 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 110-107 win over the Orlando Magic yesterday. Porzingis did not play in that game due to illness.
Johnson is coming off a spent preseason preparation with LeBron James and is looking to improve on his performance from last season, when he averaged 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. In March 2024. Johnson has been battling an ankle injury. Eventually, Johnson suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. As a result, his The 2024-2025 season ended in January.
Meanwhile, Porzingis begins his first season with the Hawks after traded by the Boston Celtics.
The Hawks’ new frontcourt dynamic
The addition of Porzingis brings a few assists in the frontcourt. For example, he and Johnson create space for guys like Trae Young to run offensively. At the same time, Porzingis and Johnson don’t want to run off to shoot the ball themselves with their wide range.
Moreover, Porzingis can effectively run the pick-and-roll with the likes of Young. Plus, he can be in a good position with an explosive player like Johnson attacking the basket. In other words, Johnson could provide Porzingis a quick two-point entry.
Then there are their respective heights. Porzingis standing at 7-foot-2 and Johnson at 6-foot-9 can protect the rim and block shots.
2025-10-25 20:19:00
