Jalen Johnson’s Status Revealed For Today’s NBA Cup Game vs Milwaukee

Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain) was listed as questionable coming into today’s NBA Cup Semifinal game vs the Bucks and his status was just revealed. Johnson is going to be able to play tonight vs Milwaukee and that is huge for Atlanta’s chances of winning this game and getting to the NBA Cup Finals.

The Atlanta Hawks are the talk of the NBA right now. They have won seven of their last eight games, which have included two wins over the Knicks, one being in the NBA Cup Quarterfinal on Wednesday, a road win in Boston, two wins over the Cavaliers, and a win over the Lakers. They face the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow afternoon in the biggest game of their season and with a win they would clinch a spot in the NBA Cup Finals on Tuesday against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Houston Rockets. This is a young team that is playing team basketball right now and they are catching the eye of everyone around the NBA, including a lot of national media. If they win today, that will continue.

Coming into tonight’s game, the Hawks are 8th in the NBA in PPG, 18in FG%, 19th in 3PA, 24th in 3P%, 6th in FTA, 23rd in turnovers, and 4th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 16th in points per 100 possessions, 21st in effective field goal percentage, 20th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 14th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 19th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed, and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 14th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 25th in effective field goal percentage allowed. The Hawks’ defense was fantastic against the Knicks on Wednesday, but they will certainly have a tough time tonight against Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Hawks don’t have a real answer for Giannis and and that could be the biggest mismatch in the game.

Milwaukee is currently 13th in PPG, 7th in FG%, 16th in 3PA, 3rd in 3P%, 10th in FTA, 22nd in rebounding, and 12th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Bucks are 10th in points per 100 possessions, 3rd in effective field goal percentage, 9th in turnover percentage, 30th in offensive rebounding percentage, and12th in free throw rate.

Defensively, the Bucks rank 13th in PPG allowed, 6th in FG% allowed, 20th in 3PA allowed, and 16th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Milwaukee is 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 8th in effective field goal percentage.

Trae Young has stepped up whenever the lights are brightest and the Hawks will need him today. He only had 17 points and seven assists in the last game, but lower scoring games have been common for him this season. Milwaukee does not have an elite defense and Young can find mismatches against them.

Dyson Daniels only had nine points in the last game vs the Bucks, but he could be the most inmportant player on the floor for Atlanta. Daniels is going to be tasked with guarding Damian Lillard and he will have to prevent him from getting hot scoring the basketball. Giannis is tough enough to deal with, but if Lillard gets going as well, they are tough to beat.

Zaccharie Risacher had a pretty solid game against Milwaukee 12 days ago, scoring 12 points and hittiing 2-4 three point attempts. His length and versatility is going to be valuable in helping guard Giannis in this game and Risacher can be disruptive.

Jalen Johnson has been introducing himself on the big stage this year and Wednesday was no exception. Johnson was awesome against the Knicks and continued to play at an All-Star level. He was able to score 23 points and grab 13 rebounds in the last game vs Milwaukee and I think he is ready for another big performance.

The Bucks are not a great rebounding team and that could mean big games from Clint Capela, who is in the midst of a nice season. Capela had 17 rebounds in the last game vs Milwaukee, but he was not the only center that had a nice game. Onyeka Okongwu had 13 points and six rebounds, but played some great defense against Giannis. He has had good defensive performances vs Antetokounmpo before and that is something to monitor.

The Hawks bench is one of the best in the NBA and they hold a massive advantage over the Bucks. De’Andre Hunter is playing at a high level right now and Bogdan Bogdaovic was 3-5 from three in the last meeting. Hunter, Bogdanovic, and Okongwu are a great trio off the bench, but who will be the 9th man? Lately it has been VIt Krejci and that is what I expect tonight.

One thing Milwaukee is likely to have in this game that they didn’t last time is Khris Middleton. Hawks fans don’t need to be reminded of what Middleton can do when healthy and he could make a big impact in the game.

The keys to the game are similar to the last time these two teams played. Don’t let MIlwaukee get hot from three (they are 3rd in 3p%), don’t let Giannis dominate and dictate the game, win the turnover battle (Bucks had 18 turnovers to Atlanta’s 11 last time), and dominate the glass. Do those things and an NBA Cup Finals appearance will likely be on the way.

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