Jalen Johnson makes his case for Most Improved Player: Dominates Utah Jazz in Atlanta Hawks victory

The Atlanta Hawks are without Trae Young for at least 4 weeks, but that didn’t stop them from competing at a high level. Tonight, Jalen Johnson dominated the game as he led the Atlanta Hawks to an easy 124-97 victory over the Utah Jazz at State Farm Arena.

Johnson is a 3rd year player out of Duke. After struggling in his first 2 seasons of the NBA, he flipped the switch and is now playing a pivotal role for Atlanta. Last month during the trade deadline, the Hawks made it clear that he was untouchable alongside All-Star Trae Young. The 22-year-old increased his points per game from 5.6 to 15.7 and his rebounds from 4 to 8.7, so he definitely has a case to win the 2024 Most Improved Player.

In tonight’s game he finished with a team high 22 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 6 assists on 64% shooting. Dejounte Murray recorded a double-double, ending with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 19 points with 3 triples while De’Andre Hunter scored 20 points off the bench.

For the Jazz, Collin Sexton led the way with 22 points. Keyontae George scored 14 points while hitting 4 three pointers, and Walker Kessler finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Lauri Markkanen struggled, ending with 11 points on 4/13 shooting.

This win improves the Hawks to 26-32, which makes them 10th in the Eastern Conference and 4 games above the Brooklyn for the last play-in spot. Despite dealing with key injuries, Atlanta has been able to stay afloat. Now winning 2 in a row without Trae Young, they will look to continue this momentum on Thursday against the Nets.

Meanwhile, this loss drops the Jazz to 27-32, which makes them 11th in the Western Conference and 4 games behind the 10th seeded Lakers for the last play-in spot. Utah is 3-7 over their last 10 games and is still fighting for a chance to make the playoffs, so this loss stings. They will look to bounce back on Thursday against the Orlando Magic.