CHICAGO — The rehab process has been slow but productive for Hawks forward Jalen Johnson. But, with the potential return to the rotation Tuesday, the process may have paid off.
The Hawks officially ruled Johnson as questionable with a left distal radius fracture for their matchup against the Bulls at United Center. But plenty of signs point to Johnson making a return to where he scored a then-career-high 16 points April 4.
“We got better every day,” Johnson said of the rehab process Tuesday. “So, that was still the goal, even with being out. So, it was good.”
This season, Johnson, who has put up career numbers in just about everything, has proved to be a huge factor for what the Hawks are looking to do.
In 15 games this season, Johnson has averaged 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists while tying his career-high of 21 points twice this season. He has made 59.4% of his overall shots, as well as 42.5% of his shots from deep.
Shooting-wise, he’s taking and making shots confidently when he gets the right looks. Per Cleaning the Glass, he ranks in the 96th percentile in effective field-goal percentage, where he has effectively made 65.8% of his attempts. He ranks in the 92nd percentile when it comes to shots at the rim, making 73% of his attempts.
On the defensive end, he’s provided the Hawks with some much needed size and his athletic ability helped them on the glass.
So, when the Hawks lost Johnson for four weeks this season, his absence left a gaping hole that they tried to plug with a myriad of lineups that included their two rotational centers playing minutes together.
Johnson left the Hawks’ Nov. 25 game against the Wizards with 9:33 remaining in the second quarter after taking a hard hit from Kyle Kuzma while trying to dunk in transition. He had just picked off Kuzma at half court after the Wizards forward tried to maneuver past him with a behind-the-back dribble. Kuzma had four turnovers at that point and looked to stop the fast break.
As Johnson leapt into the air to finish the transition dunk, Kuzma bumped him and sent him crashing into the stanchion. When Johnson landed, he fell on his left hand and immediately grabbed it. He remained on the ground for several minutes before getting up. But he continued to hold his wrist while grimacing in pain.
He eventually stepped to the free-throw line, splitting his shots after taking the second with only his right hand. He immediately left the game and went straight to the locker room before the team ruled him out for the remainder of the matchup.
“Obviously, I knew something was wrong,” Johnson said. “You guys could tell by my face with that. But yeah, just kind of I still wanted the point. I mean, thankfully, it wasn’t my right hand. So I was able to still attempt the free throws.”
The 22-year-old forward missed the Hawks’ next 14 games. The Hawks went 4-10 in that span, and much of their early-season production has dropped off with Johnson’s absence and the increased hours of video available to other teams.
The Hawks have averaged 3.6 fewer points per game and 1.3 fewer rebounds. Even with guard Trae Young putting up career numbers, the team has averaged 1.1 fewer assists per game.
“We just got to keep getting better, every day, every game,” Johnson said. “That’s all my goal is to help get this team where we want to get to and just keep building together and working hard.”
It’s why he took his recovery seriously, and the team made sure to keep him involved as far as his health would allow. To do so, Johnson did plenty of exercises that helped him strengthen his hand and wrist.
Exercise-wise, the Hawks introduced Johnson to smaller therapy balls as soon as he was able to use them, which would make the transition to a full-size game ball easier.
The rehab has focused on wrist and forearm strength. He worked closely with the Hawks’ upper-extremity specialist, Mojca “Mo” Herman, to get to where he needed to be.
Because he did not have a lower body injury, he has avoided having to recover in terms of cardio, and he worked with Paddy Hogben, the Hawks’ head strength-and-conditioning coach.
A little over one week after his injury and diagnosis, Johnson returned to the court for some post-practice shooting with the rest of his teammates.
“Our health-performance group does a great job,” Snyder said at the time. “Not just with those evaluations initially, but being able to bring guys along. He’s got (a) splint that allows him as much mobility as possible without compromising the healing process. So it’s good to get him back out on the court (though) there’s obviously things he can’t do. But conditioning, just being around the game.”
By Dec. 20, Johnson the team cleared Johnson to return to practice, and he got an extra workout in following the Hawks’ shootaround in Houston ahead the game against the Rockets. They’ve been itching to get him back.
“He brings a lot to us,” Young said following Saturday’s game against the Grizzlies. “I saw his dad courtside and saw his family there tonight. I think they’re all here for Christmas, and I was telling his pops, I’m ready for his son to be back and help us. And I know Jalen is ready to be back.
“And whether it’s next game or the game after, he’s gonna help us whenever he gets back. And I’m just happy he’s healing and it’s nothing that can drag on any longer. So, we definitely miss him the way we’ve been playing. We’re low on some size and some rebounding and certain areas. But he’s going bring a lot to our team.”
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