The Portland Trail Blazers will be looking to avenge their blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors in their next matchup tonight against Jalen Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks. This will be the first of two games against Atlanta this season, and the first time in eight years that the Blazers will face a Hawks team without Trae Young.
There are three things that are certain in life. It’s death, taxes, and the Hawks going to the play-ins. Experts and fans had high expectations for the new Hawks following the offseason trade for Kristaps Porzingis and the signings of (former Blazer) Nickell Alexander Walker and Luke Kennard. Led by burgeoning forward Jalen Johnson, the Hawks appear poised to avoid a permanent relegation to the 7-10 seed. For now, fate continues to win. The Hawks are 20-22 in 42 games, helped by continued injuries to the recently traded Young and the chronically battered Porzingis.
Jalen Johnson is the head of this Hawks team. (Considering Trae Young only played 10 games that season, he was also something of a manager for his former team). Johnson is a prolific scorer and can punish defenses from almost anywhere on the court. He’s also one of the tallest players I’ve ever seen at 6’11 and 6’8. This year, Johnson averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting 57.0% from the field.
Beyond Johnson, Atlanta has one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in the league. Luke Kennard is shooting nearly 50% from 3-point range on just over three attempts per game. Czech guard Vit Kureishi is making over 43% of his attempts from beyond the arc, which isn’t surprising knowing he spent a year in Oklahoma City. Alexander Walker continues to remind the Blazers that trading him so soon after acquiring him in 2022 was the wrong decision, scoring a career-high 20 points per game on 38% shooting from deep. As a team, the Hawks are a top-five 3-point shooting team in the league.
Despite this, the Hawks still have the 18th best offense in the league. They also have the 16th best defensive rating in the league, despite being the league’s largest, and are the runner-up for last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, Dyson Daniels. If you look at the statistics, feel They should be better than their record suggests. There’s really only one explanation. The Hawks will forever be in the middle of the pack, along with the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, cursed to never return to the play-in tournament. So expect the difference: Hawks can It will certainly beat you. But as the basketball gods ordained, that may not be the case.
Deni Avdija could be an MVP candidate. While the team certainly hasn’t had the success it deserves, the Blazers’ rapid fall from a potential playoff team to a mid-major G League franchise makes clear just how important Avdija really is.
Without Avdija’s heroics, the Blazers’ offensive options are limited. In the last record-setting game against the Warriors, Shaydon Sharpe was the definitive first option, scoring 19 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Although he was efficient in limited quantities, he struggled to cope with mounting defensive pressure. Sharpe had to tone down his aggression as he lacked playmaking, allowing Caleb Love to lead the Blazers in shot attempts on 5-of-16 shooting.
Assuming the Blazers’ health stays similar, the Hawks will undoubtedly put the same type of ball pressure on Sharpe. The onus is on the Blazers’ secondary playmaker to perform so well that it’s disappointing for the Hawks to blitz Sharpe and drop 50 points. Hopefully, with more playing time for Jrue Holiday, this primary ball-handling responsibility will be alleviated to some extent. But Holiday clearly needs to shake off a little more rust before assuming a big enough role to benefit Sharpe.
Portland Trail Blazers (19-22) vs. Atlanta Hawks (20-22) – Thursday, January 15th – 7pm PT
How to watch via antenna or cable: Check your options at rip city television network.
How to watch streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; Elsewhere, you can use League Pass or NBA TV.
Trail Blazers injuries: Jerami Grant (probably). Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard, Chris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley (out).
Hawks injuries: Muhamed Guay, Luke Kennard (questionable). Nfaly Dante, Kristaps Porzingis, Zachary Lizacher (out).
Jerami Grant. Jerami Grant has been upgraded to questionable for this matchup and is expected to return from a bout with left Achilles tendonitis that has sidelined him for the past nine games. This time, it wasn’t the infectious tendonitis that often occurs at the end of every season.
The Blazers desperately need Grant’s offensive power and defensive length. Grant would provide a second option to contain Jalen Johnson and allow Toumani Kamara to breathe.
Before being sidelined, Grant was averaging 20 points on 39% 3-point shooting.
Dyson Daniels. Dyson Daniels, last year’s steals leader and first-team All-NBA selection, has cooled down a bit this year. His averages have declined across the board, and he consistently struggles from three… a whopping 11% from three.
Daniels will still be a nuisance on the defensive end, and the Blazers’ ball handler (*cough* Shaydon Sharpe *cough*) will need to set the tone for his game. That being said, he currently shoots like Ray Felton’s Draymond Green, so the Blazers could scheme against him.
Second chance points and free throws. There are two things the Hawks don’t like. It’s about offensive rebounds and drawing fouls. These happen to be two things that the Blazers are very good at. Without Deni Avdija, the Blazers will likely only be good at one of those things, but if they can iron things out, second-chance points could be the deciding factor in this matchup. Donovan Clingan and Toumani Kamara will have to use brute force to break the glass.
As a side note, Caleb Love, please stop using force to break glass.