Jalen Johnson’s status for tonight’s NBA Cup game against Milwaukee revealed

Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain) was listed as questionable entering today’s NBA Cup semifinal game against the Bucks, and his status was just announced. Johnson will be able to play tonight against Milwaukee, and that is huge for Atlanta’s chances of winning this game and reaching the NBA Cup Finals.

The Atlanta Hawks are the talk of the NBA right now. They have won seven of their last eight games, including two wins over the Knicks, one in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, a road win at Boston, two wins over the Cavaliers and a win over the Lakers. They face the Milwaukee Bucks in the biggest game of their season tomorrow afternoon and a win would secure a spot in Tuesday’s NBA Cup Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder or Houston Rockets. This is a young team that is currently playing team basketball and is attracting the attention of everyone in the NBA, including many national media outlets. If they win today, it will continue like this.

Heading into today’s game, the Hawks rank 8th in the NBA in PPG, 18th in FG%, 19th in 3PA, 24th in 3P%, 6th in FTA, 23rd in turnovers and 4th in rebounding. According to Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta ranks 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 goals allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. According to Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta ranks 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 against Giannis Antetokounmpo tonight. The Hawks have no real answer for Giannis and that might 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. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Bucks are 10th in points per 100 possessions, 3rd in effective field goal percentage, 9th in turnover percentage, 30th in turnover percentage in offensive rebounding percentage and 12th in free throw percentage.

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

Trae Young steps up whenever the lights are brightest, and the Hawks will need him today. He only had 17 points and seven assists in his last game, but lower scoring games have been commonplace for him this season. Milwaukee doesn’t have an elite defense and Young may find inconsistency against them.

Dyson Daniels only had nine points in the last game against the Bucks, but could be the most important player on the court for Atlanta. Daniels will be tasked with guarding Damian Lillard, and he’ll have to keep him from getting really hot with the basketball. Giannis is tough enough, but when Lillard gets going too, they’ll be hard to beat.

Zaccharie Risacher had a pretty solid game against Milwaukee 12 days ago, scoring 12 points and hitting 2-4 three-point attempts. His length and versatility will be of great use when guarding Giannis in this game, and Risacher can be disruptive.

Jalen Johnson has been on the big stage this year and Wednesday was no exception. Johnson was great against the Knicks and continued to perform at an All-Star level. He scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the last game against Milwaukee and I think he’s ready for another big performance.

The Bucks are not a great rebounding team and that could mean big games for Clint Capela, who is in the midst of a nice season. Capela had 17 rebounds in the last game against Milwaukee, but he wasn’t the only center who had a good game. Onyeka Okongwu had 13 points and six rebounds but played great defense against Giannis. He has already shown good defensive performances against Antetokounmpo and that is something to keep an eye on.

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

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

The key to the game is similar to the last game between these two teams. Don’t let MIlwaukee get too hot from three (they’re 3rd in 3 percent), 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. If you do these things, you’ll likely be in line for a trip to the NBA Cup Finals.

Hawks vs Bucks: Game preview, injury report, betting odds, expected starting lineups for today’s NBA Cup game

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