Alarming Jalen Johnson stat undermines his apparent playmaking success

Jalen Johnson has been the shiniest bright spot in an otherwise dark and dreary Hawks season.

In a year marked by the loss of Trae Young and a disappointing regular season well below expectations (note that ESPN mocked the Hawks as the 4 seed prior to the season), the Hawks still have a very clear franchise direction thanks to Johnson's breakout, as well as the ever-tantalizing Pelicans pick that looms on the horizon this summer.

Unfortunately for Johnson, whose playmaking ability has been on full display this year, a surprising statistic has come to light that undermines his ability as a lead point forward.

Johnson falls squarely in the "quadrant of woe" in the P&R graph, joined only by Shaedon Sharpe and LaMelo Ball as the three P&R ball handlers logging at least 250 possessions at a 0.80 PPP (points per possession) clip or lower.

Obviously, this isn't the kind of company Johnson should strive to be a part of. However, this issue may not prove as lethal to Johnson's future as a playmaker as it is apparent at face value.

Atlanta's post-Trae system may reduce the urgency of this issue

The good news for Jalen? The new Atlanta offense after Trae Young's departure is moving further and further away from pick-and-roll scenarios.

While PNRs will remain visibly apparent within any NBA offense, the frequency at which the Hawks have been utilizing this model this season versus last has noticeably dipped.

Last season, the Hawks ended possessions with the PNR ball handler & PNR roller 23.8% of the time - comfortably within the upper echelon of all teams. This season, this number has fallen to 18.5% of their possessions, a very sizable gap representing a 22% decrease in PNR possessions.

As this number continues to fall in Young's absence, so too does the Hawks' need for Jalen to improve his pick-and-roll efficiency as the ball handler. As Atlanta adapts more and more to their motion-style offense, this deficiency won't sour the win column as much as it would have last year.

That being said, Jalen has some work to do - even though he may not be dropping the ball off to a rolling Okongwu or Landale as much as the Hawks would have asked him to do a year ago, the more tools you have in the box, the better.

If the Hawks are serious about making a playoff push next year, this is a must-have for any first option. As has been well documented in recent years, the pick and roll offense is relied upon much more heavily in high-leverage, playoff situations. Get ready, Jalen - it's not too far off in the future.