The Atlanta Hawks faced the Washington Wizards amid multiple converging storylines. It was Jonathan Kuminga’s debut for his new team. Bear in mind that Trae Young also returned to State Farm Arena for the first time since his trade midgame. Neither star commanded anyone’s attention more than forward Jalen Johnson, who surprisingly exited the game early with a hip injury in what seemed like a non-contact play.

Why did Jalen Johnson leave the game? What injury did he suffer?

Jalen Johnson was performing as usual, helping orchestrate the offense, but things changed after he grabbed a defensive rebound in the first quarter. The cameras caught him reaching for his hip while he dribbled toward the paint on the other end. He made his shot but winced soon and asked head coach Quin Snyder to take him out.

A timeout was called, and Johnson headed straight down the tunnel, back into the locker room. The team announced he was questionable due to a left hip flexor injury. Soon after, he was ruled out for the night. His next chance to play will be on Thursday, in a rematch against the Wizards.

How did Jalen Johnson perform before leaving?

Jalen Johnson was solid during his minutes on the floor as he continues his breakout season. In just under six minutes, he scored five points, connecting on two of his four shots while grabbing three rebounds and two steals. This is the latest in a series of injury-related absences for the team.

This season, Johnson is averaging an eye-popping 23.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists, ranking second in triple-doubles behind only Nikola Jokic this season. Since star guard Trae Young’s injury and subsequent trade, he has emerged as a clear star and building block for the future.

How did the Atlanta Hawks adjust without Johnson?

With Johnson ruled out, the key pieces that are likely to get more time are new acquisition Jonathan Kuminga, as well as Mouhamed Gueye, who have logged solid minutes at four. Kuminga has had an outstanding game so far, going 6 of 7 from the field for 16 points, adding two rebounds, four assists, and two steals at the time of writing.

Gueye has been a fine reserve, pulling down seven boards and scoring six points. The main scoring burden in Johnson’s absence, however, has clearly fallen on Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu, both of whom have taken an increased number of shot attempts. However, things aren’t going as well for them.

So far, the two have combined for an abysmal eight made shots on 27 attempts. However, this has been enough, especially as the Wizards continue to show why they are one of the worst teams in the league, trailing by 32 points. Snyder knew the importance of Kuminga’s return and addressed the media about it.

“It’s part of development,” the Hawks coach told reporters. “The competition that you’re involved in at a high level is able to show you the things that you need to work on, but we want to win, make no mistake about that, and everybody’s got to contribute at the level that they’re capable of right now.”