3 Hawks players who must step up in Jalen Johnson's absence after the break

With Jalen Johnson out for the season, the Atlanta Hawks will need all hands on deck to make a serious playoff push after the All-Star break. On January 29, the team announced that Johnson suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will require season-ending surgery.

The Hawks have stayed afloat since the news with a 4-4 record over their last eight contests. Atlanta currently owns the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, three games back from the No. 6 seed and an automatic playoff berth.

The Hawks had to deliver more bad news on the injury front in a February 12 announcement on their social media page. Larry Nance Jr. and Vit Krejci will both miss extended time with non-displaced fractures. Krejci has a non-displaced lumbar fracture in his back and will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks while Nance has a fractured knee that will keep him sidelined until the team re-evaluates him in about six weeks.

The Hawks will need several players to step up in the wake of the injury bug. Johnson has specifically left a huge void to fill, and Nance’s new injury certainly doesn’t help the team’s frontcourt depth.

Atlanta made a splash at the trade deadline by adding new pieces in Caris Levert, Georges Niang, and Terrance Mann in exchange for De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic. These two major trades could certainly alter the way Atlanta’s post-ASB stretch unfolds.

In Johnson’s absence, Atlanta will need frontcourt production from multiple Hawks forwards and centers. Johnson looked primed for a potential All-Star debut, but fans will have to wait another year to see if JJ can recreate the magic he had displayed through 36 games (18.9 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per game).

Here are 3 Hawks players that must step up in Jalen Johnson’s absence

1) Onyeka Okongwu

Onyeka Okongwu took over as Atlanta’s starting center on January 20, and he has posted productive numbers since Quin Snyder made this change. In 14 starts, Big O has averaged 13.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.3 steals on 62.9% shooting from the field.

After losing their first six games with Okongwu as a starter, the Hawks found a better rhythm in early February. In Johnson’s absence, the fifth-year big man will need to make up for some of the floor-spacing and defensive versatility JJ provided. Okongwu has shot a serviceable 30.4% from three as a starter, but he flashed serious signs of long-range potential with three 3-pointers on five attempts against San Antonio four games before the All-Star break.

Okongwu has the ability to defend multiple positions the way Johnson can. His switchability on the defensive end will hopefully keep Atlanta’s defense afloat while Johnson is sidelined. The Hawks have the No. 15 defensive rating in the NBA this season, and they have maintained their No. 15 ranking over their eleven games without Johnson. 

With Clint Capela’s role on the team murkier than ever, Okongwu must become the defensive anchor the Hawks need to make noise in the playoffs. Only time will tell if Big O can temporarily emerge as Atlanta’s ultimate JJ replacement.

2) Georges Niang

With Nance and Krejci sidelined, Niang has a realistic path to 30-plus minutes a night for the rest of the season. Unless young forwards like Mouhamed Gueye and Dominick Barlow can take quicker leaps in their development, the Hawks will need to lean on Niang for heavy minutes at power forward.

Niang has already fit well in Atlanta’s offense next to Trae Young. The 31-year-old stretch four has averaged 15.0 points across three contests with his new team, shooting 45.0% from the 3-point line on 6.7 attempts per game.

The Hawks have gone 2-1 with Niang on the squad, and he has the second-highest plus-minus on the team during that stretch with a +34 mark only behind Ice Trae’s +39. While he may not replicate much of what Johnson brings from a skill set standpoint, his early impact has been undeniable.

In his Hawks debut, Niang hit four straight 3-pointers in less than three minutes to help Atlanta pull away in the third quarter. While the Hawks will miss the defensive greatness, efficient scoring, and playmaking prowess of Johnson, Niang can give Atlanta something Johnson is still lacking: elite long-range accuracy.

Niang has shot 40.0% or better from three in six of his last seven seasons. He has done it on solid volume, averaging at least four 3-point attempts for five straight years. His 28.0 minutes per game with the Hawks would also smash his previous career high for a season, and Atlanta will need his presence with Johnson and Nance both absent from the frontcourt rotation.

3) Mouhamed Gueye

Gueye still has plenty of room to grow and develop his game, but the raw talent is there. This season, Gueye has averaged a double-double in the G League after failing to record a single double-double as a rookie. He is averaging 15.0 points and 10.3 rebounds for the College Park Skyhawks while shooting a remarkable 51.3% from 3-point range on 3.5 attempts per game.

While he hasn’t fully developed his pick-and-roll defense and overall defensive IQ, Gueye has averaged 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks with College Park. He also averages the sixth-most offensive rebounds in the G League with 4.4 per contest.

At a Skyhawks practice in January, Gueye talked to Soaring Down South about his overall mindset as a second-year player.

“Right now, it’s just about getting better every day,” Gueye said. “It doesn’t matter if I have five threes a game or one three a game, it’s just about getting better and improving. Whatever the coaches demand me to do, I will. I know they want the best for me.”

Gueye has drawn four spot starts over his last six appearances for the Hawks while they have dealt with the effects of the injury bug and the trade deadline. He only played more than 16 minutes in one of those starts when he dropped 11 points and seven rebounds in a late-January loss to the Houston Rockets.

Gueye had the ultimate breakout game off the bench on February 7 when Atlanta beat the Milwaukee Bucks. The Senegal-born hooper exploded for 15 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks in just under 23 minutes of action. Gueye posted a +22 plus-minus in the five-point Hawks victory.

As Gueye continues to improve his consistency and physicality, the minutes will keep opening up for him. Atlanta could use his skill set down the stretch.