Jalen Johnson leaves injured in third straight loss. What’s his health outlook?

When it rains…

The Atlanta Hawks lost their third game in a row as they lost to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, 122-119.

The Hawks were without Clint Capela and Zaccharie Risacher tonight. That development was a tough blow defensively. The Hawks again started the game slow as they had a tough time making shots throughout the night as they played on back-to back games, playing the Detroit Pistons the night before.

“We were dragging some last night, and I thought we were ready to play. Toronto has been off for a couple of days, and they came out to start the game that way. But I thought our guys responded, and we were able to pick it up. And we were leading late. They made some plays down the stretch, and we missed some shots. Sometimes that’s as fine a margin as there is. On a back-to-back, I think our guys did a good job as they can getting rest and being ready to go,” said head coach Quin Synder.

Scottie Barnes was key for the Raptors as he had 25 points, six rebounds and clutch baskets down the stretch. The Hawks just didn’t have an answer for him. The Raptors also shot a ridiculous 58% from the field. The Raptors came out very aggressive defensively — and it showed early on.

“I think for one thing, they came out real aggressively defensively and we kind of settled in and drove the ball. As far as what they were doing offensively, they were running us. Had us on our heels a little bit, cutting, and we were just a step slow. And they were playing with more urgency on the offensive end. And to our guys’ credit, we picked it up and turned it [around] even after we lost Jalen,” said Snyder.

Dyson Daniel had his fifth 20+ point game of the season, finishing with 22 points, eight8 rebounds, four steals and five assists. The game marked his 16th straight game with a steal — which is a career high for the NBA steals leader.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was also a bright spot for the Hawks, as he seems to be getting back to form with his 23-point outing. He was extremely aggressive, making 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. He gave the Hawks extra firepower that they needed after losing Jalen to keep the game close. Trae Young added 18 points and 13 assists while Onyeka Okongwu chipped in with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Unfortunately for the Hawks the game wasn’t the only thing lost as Jalen Johnson injured his shoulder in the second quarter, and he was forced to exit from the game. Johnson had missed five games straight and six of seven earlier this month with an injured right shoulder, and now he will be reevaluated for his left shoulder after tonight’s injury. It was very detrimental as the Hawks missed his skill and athleticism throughout the night.

[Editor’s note]

The latest update has Johnson out for the Saturday contest also against the Raptors, but no update was provided beyond that.