Atlanta Hawks: Jalen Johnson shows the ability to bounce back
The Atlanta Hawks G-League affiliate the College Park Skyhawks played their second game of the season. They played the Maine Celtics, the same opponent as their first game, and unfortunately for the Skyhawks, they lost to them for the second straight game.
The first game highlighted the talents of DaQuan Jeffries and Sharife Cooper. This game Skylar Mays played his best game of the season and Jalen Johnson bounced back from his poor shooting night in the first game.
Johnson went 9-of-16 in the second game, including 3-of-5 from deep. This meant that he had 21 points on the night. He also collected 12 rebounds and two assists on the night. He looked far more like the All-Summer League 1st team player in the second game than in the first game.
The Atlanta Hawks could call Jalen Johnson back to the varsity team if he plays like this
Johnson was assigned to the Skyhawks as he was struggling to get minutes with the varsity squad. This is understandable given the depth of the Hawks this season but if he keeps putting up numbers like he did in the second game of the season, the Hawks may try him off the bench.
The problem for the Hawks is that they have not been performing up to the standard that was expected of them at the start of he season. This is starting to show in coach Nate McMillan’s press conferences as he is getting frustrated with reporters and giving short answers to their questions.
Johnson was able to play with the second unit of the Skyhawks and was the only starter to not have a negative double-digit impact on the box score. Johnny Hamilton was the second-best starter with minus 19. Johnson was only minus three.
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It will be interesting to see whether the Skyhawks can bounce back in their next home game against the Delaware Blue Coats. For them to do well they need Johnson to led this team again the way he did in the second game of the season.