Why Jalen Johnson may be ready to fly for the Hawks | The Kevin O'Connor Show
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor and contributing writer Tom Haberstroh discuss the fourth-year Hawks forward's increased usage so far this season and what it means for his future in Atlanta. Hear the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Here's a stat for you.
Ok.
There's two players logging over 100 touches per game this season.
Nikola Jokic is first, no surprise there.
The other player is Jalen Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks.
He's logging over 100 touches this season.
The Hawks have changed his usage.
Pick and roll.
Possessions are way up and I like the flashes of what they're envisioning with this 6 ft 10 guy who plays like Ben Simmons with a confident jump shot.
And I think Jalen Johnson, it's pretty clear that the Hawks are making an investment in this guy to say, hey, we need you to be that second star next to Trey Young for us to take a leap.
And even though the numbers have not exactly panned out yet with him after he had signed his extension this off season, I'm a believer in him and I think over the course of time, we'll see him return to his norm from last year.
I had no idea.
This guy went to Duke.
What, what was his, what was his season at Duke?
Like because I think for a lot, he fell to 20th in the draft.
He's kind of been underrated his first couple of years in the league and then he made the leap last year.
He gets the big contract.
Now, he's every bit the guy that they rewarded in the off season with that extension and more.