Atlanta Hawks: Johnson called up, should play against diminished Hornets

The Atlanta Hawks are preparing to take on a very depleted Charlotte Hornets team on Sunday in a contest that could shake up the current standings in the Eastern Conference. Among those out for Charlotte are point guard LaMelo Ball and shooting guard Terry Rozier, their first and third-leading scorers.

While the Hawks are dealing with a couple of injuries themselves, nothing outside of the ones we already know of should keep anyone out for an extended period.

Still, their G-League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks don’t have another game until Dec 9. That being the case, the Hawks have recalled forward Jalen Johnson in time for Sunday’s matchup with the Hornets.

Jalen Johnson could see the floor plenty versus a Hornets team missing several key players

There is a large subsection of Hawks fans that have clamored for Johnson to be with the big club from the moment he was drafted. With eyes on getting him as much playing time as possible, he has mostly been down with College Park, appearing in just seven games with the Hawks for fewer than three minutes a pop.

Nate McMillan has said it would take even more injuries for Johnson to get time with the Hawks when Bogdan Bogdanovic and Cam Reddish went down.

With Trae Young and Kevin Huerter are dealing with soreness, that time could be now.

It needs to be said and has been mentioned repeatedly that Johnson doesn’t play the same position as Reddish or the also-injured De’Andre Hunter as a power forward.

McMillan did say the rookie had the ability to play small forward in October.

In any case, the bigger and more relevant question about Johnson’s ultimate fit with the Hawks – remember, some said he was drafted to the wrong team during the summer – is how he could potentially fit next to John Collins when the latter moves to play center in small-ball lineups.

It is a role that mostly belongs to Danilo Gallinari at the moment who will enter the final year of his contract next season.

The Hawks could look to move the veteran if they feel they have a capable, albeit stylistically different, replacement. Johnson isn’t going to space the floor as Gallinari does. But he should be a better mobile defender and rebounder, averaging 11.1 boards, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks to go with 17.4 points and 2.3 assists for the winless Skyhawks.

Before they can make that decision though, they need to see it in practice.

This game, against a severely diminished Hornets roster, could provide a chance to bounce back from their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers as well as a chance to get a glimpse of the future.