Hawks vs Jazz: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups
The Atlanta Hawks continue their road trip tonight with a visit to Salt Lake City. Atlanta lost a nail-biter to Portland on Wednesday, but there is hope that they have Jalen Johnson coming back to the lineup tonight. After being doubtful for Wednesday's game, the Hawks have upgraded Johnson to questionable for tonight. He has been out for the last week with a right ankle sprain and Atlanta has missed him in the lineup.
Tonight will also mark the first time that Quin Snyder has coached in Utah since leaving the Jazz.
He was asked about his time with the Jazz when Utah played in Atlanta recently and Snyder had nothing but good things to say about his time there:
"It is true in so many ways how that time impacted me and my family. It was some great years and Ryan and that relationship, Danny, Justin, so many people in that organization to be impressed with, the players that I have had a chance to see throughout games this year. So obviously, fond probably understates it as far as the memories that are there and then you can't really do it without the fans and the people in the community that made that not just meaningful but impactful for me and so many families. "
During his time with the Jazz, Snyder compiled a 372–264 and made the playoffs multiple seasons.
Both teams still have plenty of injury concerns coming into tonight and it will be interesting to see how they matchup.
Game Preview
The Hawks' offense might be more shorthanded than usual tonight. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Johnson are questionable tonight and Atlanta can't afford to not have either of them.
The Hawks's offensive numbers look pretty good, but they have been struggling without Trae Young.
Bogdanovic has not played well since Young went down with an injury and that continued Wednesday night. Bogdanovic shot 3-15 from the field and 2-9 from three. He is the second-best offensive player on Atlanta and when he shoots like that, it is going to be tough for the Hawks to be competitive.
It wasn't just Bogdanovic though. De'Andre Hunter was 4-12, and Vit Krejci and Wesley Matthews combined for 10 points. Until Young and Jalen Johnson return, Atlanta is going to have to have guys step up and not make Murray have to shoot nearly 30 times just to have a functional offense. That is why it is important if Johnson returns tonight.
Krejci has not been contributing much in terms of scoring or rebounding, but he has flashed his ability to hit catch and shoot threes on Wednesday.
If both Johnson and Bogdanovic play, the rotation will likely see Trent Forrest, Bruno Fernando, and Garrison Matthews come off the bench. The Hawks need more from their bench in this game.
Coming into this game, Atlanta ranks 5th in PPG, 23rd in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 19th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts, 1st in offensive rebounding, and 15th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 9th in points per 100 possessions, 20th in effective field goal percentage, 11th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 9th in free throw rate.
The Jazz are not only going to be without some of their top players, but they have one of the worst defenses in the NBA. Utah is 27th in PPG allowed, 21st in field goal percentage allowed, and 29th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Utah is 29th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 28th in effective field goal percentage allowed.
If they were healthy, Utah's offense could present challenges for the Hawks, but they are not healthy. The Jazz are going to be without Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, and Kris Dunn and even with those guys, Utah could not score 100 points in the last game.
Utah is 9th in PPG, 19th in field goal percentage, 10th in three-point attempts, 18th in three-point percentage, 3rd in offensive rebounding, and 29th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Utah is 16th in points per 100 possessions, 15th in effective field goal percentage, 28th in turnover percentage, 2nd in offensive rebounding, and 11th in free throw rate.
Keyonte George and Collins Sexton are the guys that can cause the Hawks problems tonight. On Wednesday, Portland had Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton, two players capable of taking over a game vs the Hawks and they both went over 30 points, while nobody else on the Blazers did much in the way of scoring. I don't know if Sexton or George could both go over 30 points, but they can get hot and have big scoring nights.
I think tonight's game comes down to if Atlanta can get some contributions from players besides Murray on offense. Without Markkanen or Clarkson, Utah is going to be missing two of its best offensive players and their best chance to win will be to have the game low-scoring and the Hawks supporting cast struggle. If Murray can keep his offensive performance up and the Hawks can have other players step up, I think they win this game.
Injury Report
Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain) is questionable while Trae Young (finger) Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain/sesamoiditis), and Kobe Bufkin (left big toe sprain) are out. Saddiq Bey (torn ACL) is out for the season.
Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, and Jordan Clarkson are out for Utah. Taylor Hendricks is questionable.
Viewing and Betting Information
Tip-off time: 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, NBA TV
Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks will be favorites on the road tonight, as they are currently 2.5 point favorites and the over/under is at 223.5 according to the latest odds from the SI Sportsbook
Projected Starting Lineups
Hawks:
G- Bogdan Bogdanovic
G- Dejounte Murray
F- Jalen Johnson
F- Vit Krejci
C- Clint Capela
If Johnson is out, Wesley Matthews might get the start. If Bogdanovic is out, Forrest might get the start.
Jazz:
G- Collin Sexton
G- Keyonte George
F- Brice Sensabaugh
F- Taylor Hendricks
C- John Collins
