Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels are back! See if the Hawks' key players can boost their playoff chances against a surging Hornets team.
The Atlanta Hawks have just one game remaining before the NBA All-Star break, and it's a huge one against the Charlotte Hornets, who are one of the hottest teams in basketball. Atlanta is 26-29, and Charlotte is 25-29, so the winner of Wednesday night's game will head into the break as the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta was shorthanded in its last contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which was semi-eventful because Mouhammed Gueye and Naz Reid got into a little scuffle, and we're fined by the NBA $35,000 each for their antics.
However, a main reason the Hawks lost that game against Minnesota was because they were shorthanded, as Dyson Daniels (right ankle inflammation) and Jalen Johnson (left knee inflammation) did not play.
Fast forward to Wednesday's injury report, and both Johnson and Daniels are 'available' and good to go. Zaccharie Risacher also popped up on the early report as 'questionable' with a left quad contusion. However, all three should be out there against Charlotte.
Atlanta desperately needs the services of both Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels. The Hawks were down as much as 35 points against the Timberwolves, who ultimately won by 22 (138-116). Dyson Daniels can help with perimeter defense, and Jalen Johnson is Atlanta's primary scorer, so having him return to the lineup will surely help in scoring efforts. CJ McCollum had a huge game against Minnesota (38 points), but most of his buckets came when the Hawks were trailing by 20+ points.
Risacher and Johnson are the only two Hawks players representing the team at the NBA All-Star weekend. Jalen Johnson was named to his first All-Star appearance, and Risacher will participate in the Castrol Rising Stars game for a second-straight year, this time as a replacement for Ajay Mitchell.
Also on the report remains Jonathan Kuminga, who is not expected to lace up for the Hawks until after the break.
It's been a really up-and-down 55 games for the Hawks this season, but a win over Charlotte, who they just lost a nail-biter to, would help for momentum purposes.