Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Johnson out on injury report
Atlanta The Hawks are on a seven-game losing streakand they don’t want to go into the New Year with eight in a row. For that to happen, they need to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on New Year’s Eve, and they’ll have several players returning from injury to help.
After missing the last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to illness, Jalen Johnson is outside of the injury report for the Hawks. He was one of the most consistent players in the team this season, and for the month of December he is averaging a triple-double. He will be key to the Hawks trying to claim their first win in about two weeks.
Another key player who will return to the Hawks is Kristaps Porzingiswho has not played since the beginning of the month. Porzingis was shut down for two weeks dealing with an illness that some suspect was the POTS illness he had last year with the Boston Celtics.
When Porzingis played this season, he was huge, and in his last game he scored 25 points in 20 minutes. After that game, Porzingis was asked if he did dealing with the same disease from last season.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the same thing,” Porzingis said. “I just didn’t feel good. I’m not healthy, but I wouldn’t say it’s been the same since last season, so that’s good. I think I put that behind me, even this summer playing for the national team, but just catching anything, it’s frustrating. I want to be healthy, and I’m going to be healthy.”
Porzingos’ return is big for the Hawks and their frontcourt, as Onieka Okongwu has had to do much of the heavy lifting at center. With Porzingis, they have more size at the position and more shooting.
The Hawks still may not be at full strength against the Timberwolves, as Trae Young is listed as questionable with a right quad contusion.
2025-12-31 14:39:00
