Jalen Johnson is on the cusp of becoming a true star. He has had two consecutive breakout seasons, establishing himself as an exciting young prospect in 2023-24 and as a future All-Star the following year. His success flew relatively under the radar, however, as injuries and a poor record kept Johnson’s excellence from proving itself over a full season.
This year, however, Johnson is healthy and has the keys to the offense. Trae Young fell to an injury in Wednesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, and no official update has been given despite promises from the team of an MRI the following morning. As we enter our third day removed from Young’s injury with no news, it’s safe to assume the Hawks will explore their Young-less rotation.
Johnson is the only player capable of replicating Young’s dynamic offensive leadership from the perimeter. An interesting dynamic between Johnson-led and Young-led minutes is that, while his physical slashing style is the polar opposite of Young’s shifty outside scoring, the net output of these two players is more or less the same. Young is better, yes, but both players are capable of leading the team in both points and assists on any given night.
Johnson will never get a chance to prove himself like this again
What makes this challenge for Johnson so unique is that the Hawks have a talented enough roster to maintain a respectable spot in the East, even without Young. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has impressed in a high-usage role; Dyson Daniels has shown intriguing flashes as a slashing point guard; Kristaps Porzingis is a lethal three-level scorer.
For Johnson to thrive, he first must address his defense. While the real questions lie on the offensive end, the UNC product’s defense has been embarrassing through six games despite being a solid to good defender throughout his career. This issue is almost certainly mental, meaning Johnson will need to improve his effort levels in this area.
On the offensive side, Johnson needs to prove himself in at least one of two areas: can he dominate a game with his scoring, and is he a true primary initiator? He has thrived as a scorer and playmaker in the past, but this was in part due to the attention Young draws. Now that Johnson is truly leading this roster, he has a chance to prove his value in these areas without assistance.
If Johnson flops as the primary star, the Hawks will learn a valuable lesson about his value and how they can construct their roster in the future. If he cannot be the star, the Hawks must extend Young, even if that means giving him the max. If he does take the leap, the Hawks can start to look for their third co-star or fill in the pieces around their two stars with elite role players.