Injury Report: Hawks vs Jazz
The Hawks are continuing their five-game road trip with a game in Salt Lake City tomorrow vs the Jazz. After a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta is looking to get a win against a struggling Jazz team before they have to face the Clippers, Lakers, and Suns.
Atlanta is still one of the most injured teams in the NBA and that is reflected on their injury report for tomorrow night.
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.
This could mean the first action for Jalen Johnson in over a week. He was doubtful for the matchup vs Portland but is upgraded to questionable for tomorrow. Keep an eye on his status tomorrow.
Tomorrow will also be the first time that Hawks head coach Quin Snyder has coached in Salt Lake City since leaving Utah. 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 over the course of 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.
If Atlanta wants to win tomorrow, they are going to have to play better than they did last night.
Ever since Trae Young went down with an injury, the only player on Atlanta that has been able to creat his own offense and get his own shot is Dejounte Murray. He had to have a 41 point game last Friday against the Grizzlies and despite having 40 points last night, Atlanta was not able to win.
It was not the most efficient 40-point game either. Murray had to take 29 shots, nearly twice as much as the next player. It might not have been efficient, but it was necessary because of the limited options the Hawks have around them.
Bogdan Bogdanovic has not played well since Young went down with an injury and that contined last 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 competitve.
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.
We'll see if the Hawks have made their adjustments tomorrow night.
