Hawks forward Jalen Johnson continues to build off breakout performance

His turnovers have increased, though, with the Hawks putting the ball in his hands more. He plays the role of the team’s secondary playmaker, one who can get the Hawks out in transition and set them up for plays in the half-court game.

The team leans on him even more when guard Trae Young goes to the bench, and Johnson often helps run the offense alongside the team’s second unit.

“I feel like the more you play, the more experience you have, the more you feel your voice can be heard and people around you will listen to you when you speak up,” Young said. “I feel like that’s what you see in Jalen each and every game more and more.

“The more experience he has, and he’s continuing to have success throughout the start of this season, you’re just going to continue to see him talk more and give more advice, and on the team we’re going to continue to hear his voice more and more. The more he gets opportunities and situations, and he’s playing more. So it’s good that he’s getting to see some more action this year, and he’s helping our team, obviously, a lot.”

Like last season, the Hawks felt Johnson’s two absences. In the Hawks’ win over the Kings in November, they missed the length and size that Johnson provides in the frontcourt and his ability to corral rebounds and push the pace. The Hawks missed his presence even more when they hosted the Nuggets on Sunday. Center Nikola Jokic and forwards Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. shredded the Hawks in the paint.

While the Hawks have capitalized on Johnson’s ever-evolving game, it’s his growth as one of the leaders on the team that has paid dividends. Johnson has embraced the weight he carries as one of the team’s longer-tenured players.

The 23-year-old Johnson has not shied from speaking up in huddles, holding his teammates accountable and even coaching some of the team’s younger players.

“I think we’re all a pretty tight-knit group,” said Johnson, whose play this season has returned him to Most Improved Player conversations. “We’re all relatively around the same age. That kind of helps, especially locker room-wise and team chemistry-wise. I think we’re doing a great job of just holding each other accountable. Nobody’s afraid to say anything to each other. We’re all open to constructive criticism. That’s sometimes tough. Everybody has an ego in their own way. We’ve done a great job of just listening to one another, and I think that’s what’s going to help us win at the end of the day. If we can continue to do that, that’s going to be good.”

The Hawks have won seven of their past eight games, with the lone loss coming against the Nuggets. In their win over the Knicks that propelled the Hawks to Las Vegas for the semifinals of the NBA Cup, Johnson proved instrumental in helping to hold opposing wings in check.

The Hawks will need that from Johnson and the steadiness he’s provided this season when they play the Bucks on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“It’s something we talk about, and the word that I really want him to grab onto is ‘presence,’” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “I think he’s someone, aside from a pass or a shot or a dunk, to have a presence on the floor, whether he’s in a timeout, coming out of the game, coming into the game, at a free-throw play, free-throw line, whether he’s a shooter.

“Whatever it is, I think great players, you can feel them. That’s something that he wants. That’s a little more nuanced than I want to make my corner three more. I think those things are all really connected. It’s something I think he believes in and wants, and him having a presence is a big thing for our team.”