Are Jalen Johnson, Zacharie Risacher playing tonight? Hawks vs. Pacers injury report

The Atlanta Hawks get back on the road to face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday after playing without Jaylen Johnson and Zachary Rizacher in their last game. Both players are questionable to return against the defending Eastern Conference champions. Here’s everything we know about Jaylen Johnson and Zachary Rizacher’s injuries and their playing statuses against the Pacers.

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Jalen Johnson’s injury status against the Pacers

Johnson missed five games in his fifth season, including the Hawks’ 104-86 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday. He sat out that back-to-back game with a calf injury, and head coach Quin Snyder noted that his team really suffered in Johnson’s absence.

The Hawks were also without Onyeka Okongwu in the loss, which Snyder also despised. Atlanta replaced the two absent forwards with Christian Kolok and Vito Krejci, who combined to score just 15 points.

Atlanta will be hoping Johnson returns with Okongwu already ruled out for Saturday’s game. The 25-year-old remains sidelined with a broken tooth after receiving treatment elbow to the face by Jaylen Brown on Wednesday.

Before Thursday, Johnson had not missed a game since late December. Calf injuries should never be played with, but the timing of his layoff seemed more like a precaution than anything else. Consider Johnson on the right side of a contested return on Saturday.

Zachary Rizacher’s injury status against the Pacers

While Johnson has only missed one game, Rizacher has not played for the Hawks since January 7th. The former No. 1 overall pick has been sidelined with a knee contusion but traveled with the team to Indianapolis and is questionable to return after missing the last 11 games.

The Hawks have experimented with different starting lineups without Rizacher, but appear to have settled on Corey Kispert as the backup starter. Atlanta acquired Kispert as part of the Tree Young deal shortly after Risacher’s injury. Kispert is having back-to-back efforts, scoring 13 points in a win over the Boston Celtics and 17 against the Rockets.

Risacher has been listed as questionable for the past few games, making it difficult to gauge his true progress. If he returns Saturday, it will be his first time playing with the new-look Hawks since they traded Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Kispert.

Hawks injury report

N’Fali Dante — OUT, torn ACL

RaiJ Dennis — Doubtful, G League

Nikola Đurišić — Doubtful, G league

Caleb Houstan — Doubtful, G League

Jaylen Johnson — Questionable, left calf tightness

Onieka Okongwu — OUT, broken tooth

Kristaps Porzingis — OUT, left Achilles tendinitis

Zacharie Risacher – Questionable, left knee contusion

Pacer injury report

Tirese Halliburton — OUT, torn Achilles

Taelon Peter — Doubtful, G League

Ethan Thompson — Doubtful, G League

Obi Topin — OUT, stress fracture of right leg