This is EXACTLY what the Hawks need...

This is exactly what the Hawks need. The man who wears number one to embrace being the number one, but not just by fans in Atlanta, by the national media. Welcome back to Hawks Digest, everyone. I'm Chris Tipton-More. Got a special report for you guys coming today. You know, the Hawks aren't normally one of those teams that the league or, let's say, talking heads, et cetera, would normally big up. But one thing that has been undeniable is that the ascension of Jalen Johnson cannot continue to be ignored. And in this particular video today, guys, we are talking about our Atlanta Hawks in a good way. But more specifically, our guy Jalen Johnson. And so today we're talking about Jalen Johnson on the rise. Jalen Johnson is on the rise guys and we have to really just get ready for it and embrace it because this is what we want as Hawks fans we need him to go from the being the the Robin thought to the Batman thought you know him having to just take on the season last year and of course Trey being moved he didn't realize he was going to be the number one kind of had to pivot in the middle of the season but Jalen Johnson did indeed pivot and hopefully we're going to reap the benefits of it this season as the offseason he was watching film trying to get better in the gym trying to get better at his game and different things so when teams try to trap him etc he is able to still excel and help the Atlanta Hawks franchise but before I get too deep into this guys i have to let you know that today's video is indeed brought to you by one of our favorite sponsors and that is Kalshi now guys on Kalshi you guys are not betting against or trading against traditional sports books you're trading against other users like me so it's me versus you so you are able to buy yes or no contracts or outcomes that can really spread across multiple subjects we're talking about weather we're talking about politics and of course what we all love sports so if you are interested in Kalshi as you should be go ahead and use the link in the description and the pinned comment and use the code digest nba just like how you see it on the screen right here and you'll get 55 added to your account instantly when you trade that first 25 thank you so much to Kalshi for being a sponsor for today's video now let's get into a little bit more of what's going on so you guys can know exactly what i am talking about now again getting back to the Atlanta Hawks the the hawks actually was a part of being named uh as a team that has a player that is ascending to superstar level right now so now hold on don't get me wrong we all know Wimby is a cheat code and here we already know that Wimby is going to be somebody that they look at as the future but with this right here as Sports Illustrated now put out their top 25 players that they have under the age of 25 and Jalen Johnson made the top 10 we're just sticking right with the top 10 right here and as you see you see some good names on there Stephon Castle Ron Nippon uh A-man Thompson Paolo Banchero you also have Shingon Duran Hongram Flag and then you get to number two who's um Jalen Johnson who is right behind Victor Wembanyama so in order so really you mean to tell me that Bleacher Report SI now all those guys are looking at Jalen Johnson to be one of those guys to take the NBA to its next level and sitting right at number two on the again this uh this top ranking behind a generational talent like a generational titan talent and how who they consider the alien in Victor Wembanyama I should believe guys this is a massive testament for Jalen Johnson's ascension his mediocre rise and the franchise cornerstone for the Atlanta Hawks, something that we really have to have him be. But you think about it as well, Jalen Johnson, when you look at his stats last year, and I'll pull them up for you here, Jalen Johnson was one of those guys that stepped up. You know, another year having over 20-plus points. He's averaging 22.5 and 10.3. Also, you see that true shooting is at 58, nearly 60%. The assists went up as well, being that point forward. nearly eight assists in 35 minutes uh the steals have gone up as well and then just to give you guys more clarity of what it looks like this is just what you have been looking like and johnson's climb to the second spot on this list isn't just hype, it's backed by his production and that's why i want to show you guys that after taking the keys of the Atlanta Hawks offense he turned into one of those guys that's one of those prototypes that's a point forward that we he get compared to Scottie Pippen, but this guy has more athleticism, doesn't have the same defense, but he's still young, and that trajectory can go up. Think about this with Jalen Johnson as you're looking at this right here. Jalen Johnson's trajectory, he became the youngest forward since LeBron James to eclipse 500 assists in a single season. and he's acting as a genuine six foot eight offensive engine that is working for our Atlanta Hawks guys also thinking about his accolades being built on production his near triple double average earned him his first career all-star nod and the all NBA third team selection that is cementing him as a capable NBA player and honestly we'll be we'll be seeing if he'll be the undisputed alpha dog for the Atlanta Hawks all right also elite double double threat he wrapped up his year being ranked seventh guys in the league in rebounding and fifth in assists proving that he can impact winning without impact of winning excuse me at every facet of this game all right So now, what's the thing about Jalen Johnson is there are some things that he can work on? There's some things that I feel like he has to work on, but it's not a whole lot. I just really think about three things. One, he has to boost his perimeter efficiency. Jalen Johnson has turned himself into a three-point shooter for the most part and while he has improved that outside shot like like you've seen it was 35.2 from deep that was during the regular season. Defense is tightened up in the playoffs, okay and you think about, you go back to that Knicks series, they were holding him to 29% from three so developing that truly lethal shot from the three-point line consistent pull-ups consistent catching shoots in his game something that he's been working on all those things, and you saw it last year, him being able to knock them down, it will force defenses to have to respect him any and everywhere on the floor. Family, um, also it would kind of almost make him completely unguardable. You think about it, he gets that consistent jump shot he gets that dribble pull up he gets that uh back to the basket game even more because that turnaround, his turn is looking really really good, even in the offseason, I'm seeing that he's getting more fluent with it and more comfortable with it so that's one thing, boost that perimeter shooting. Jalen Johnson, I think you have something on you right there but also Jalen's just got to let loose, you know, Jalen's just got to be himself for the Atlanta Hawks Jalen Johnson uh I believe that the way that the roster is constructed, it's more so feels like a system over let's say superstar and that's, that's fine but in order to leapfrog somebody like a Wemby, he's going to have to play in consistent takeover mode with, um, I am the alpha mentality opening up the tip all the way to the final buzzer saying that I am the best player on the floor day in and day out averaging something similar to what you just saw with his averages with the 22 points and the 10 assists possibly you know i said even the assists so my thing is guys like i'm excited because this guy's ceiling is not there yet jalen johnson can still grow will he grow that's on him but i'm saying he still has the opportunity to still grow into something even better and then think about it this right here is the most important thing for me when I think about Jalen Johnson I need him to climb the all defensive status okay we have guys like Dyson we have guys like Nikhil Alexander Walker we just got Lou Dort Aaron Wiggins like I get it you're putting guys around him that are good perimeter defenders that are good you know seeing guys in spacing all that i understand it and i do respect it but i'm not gonna lie to you guys in order for these numbers right here to be even better for these numbers right here to be even better i think jalen johnson has got to take it up a notch i really do especially especially on the defensive end i really think that jalen johnson has to take it up a notch as i was sitting here just really thinking about it like that as i was telling you guys not meaning to put my hand over my mouth or anything but i'm just in mid thought as i'm doing this video with you guys and yes we have like i said with all those players before but Jalen Johnson can play more so of uh free safety type look you know so he can be in the passing lanes he can also use his height his length to also you know attack the rim and when guys try to attack the rim he's attacking the rim too but try to attack it to be a deterrence to the offensive player I believe if Jalen Johnson can put himself at more so a 26 26 points per night because again I want him to be the alpha I want him to be the undisputed so I'm thinking about 26 points per night the 10 rebounds that can stay right there and take it all the way up to eight or nine assists per game we're talking about possible MVP conversation for Jalen Johnson guys like seriously i'm not joking i'm not joking when i say that at all because looking at his career numbers he has done nothing but ascend guys look at it look at from 2021 all the way down here at the bottom and just slowly i'm giving you time slowly work your way up and just look at some of the numbers even if you just want to stay at the point totals he has consistently gone up even in his rebounds just slightly last year he was still better than he was in 24-25 you see it in the only thing that really like dipped a little bit was the steals but that's because the point totals the assists went up all those things like that the only thing that you really want to say that yeah you see that the turnovers are continuously going up as well but i told people back when we still had trey and i first started on this channel i'm like guys usage happens when you have the ball in your hand Jalen Johnson has the ball in his hand even more so now he can use his athleticism he can generate devastating fast break opportunities he is a quick hopper I believe that he can take his defense and his ability to the next level for the Atlanta Hawks guys I'm telling you Jalen Johnson has that ability guys another thing that I want to put on to you guys before I get up out of here two things actually first thing is I would have to say probably would be the money let's talk about the money look at this this is a clear indication on what the Atlanta Hawks are doing right here his contract is up it expires in 2030 but look at it he's making 30 million dollars a season each year straight out until the contract is up okay that is a wonderful deal that the Atlanta Hawks have Jalen Johnson under because they can build off of this y'all they can build a team around him I just want to know uh from Anze Cele what guy what player what players do you consider when you think about somebody making more money than Jalen Johnson because if hypothetically speaking that he shows he's more Robin than Batman you're gonna have to go get him somebody to help out and I want to know are you willing to bring in somebody that makes more money than Jalen Johnson or are you trying to keep Jalen Johnson that financial alpha you know that's what I want to know as well last thing before I get about it here let's talk about how things are ran when Johnson is on the floor so guys almost nobody in the league uses transition more often than Jalen Johnson Jalen Johnson is ninth out of 413 in possession in transition and that is 4.9 points per game uh honestly you look at Dyson Daniels and then he put you put him out with Dyson Daniels and CJ McCullough and the team takes off with Dyson Daniels and CJ McCullough the atlanta hawks are 21 and a half points per 100 possessions better than when the trio is off the floor so that's right there's your nucleus you got dyson cj and jj we'll see how that works let's talk about this he and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have a two-man game that the that defenses have to respect he and Nickeil Alexander-Walker run a genuine two-man game and he has found the Nickeil Alexander-Walker 138 times and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has has found him 61 times so they find each other on the floor and Nickeil is one of those people that he can play off of Nickeil may actually end up turning into that robin to his batman we will see this also this group is uh uh this is the group that wins him minutes as well with Nickeil Alexander-Walker with Onyeka Onyeka Okongwu, Dyson Daniels and CJ McCollum, allowing aside him the five outscore opponents 19.3 points more per per 100 possessions last thing you see his team is at its best with him and cj on the floor together believe it or not the atlanta hawks are 13.8 points per 100 possessions better with him and cj mccollum on the floor together when they when the pair sits they are of course dropping down so guys i'm telling you jalen johnson is another guy that helps this team goes this engine goes i want him to ascend and be able to live up to exactly what they're saying on this list okay you got the wimby's there but you got jalen johnson number two and it would be wonderful if he's able to leapfrog him as a superstar and also as a total NBA player, getting playoff berths, playoff series, and also championships to Atlanta. And it'll be very, very, very, very great if that can happen in the city of Atlanta. I know we have St. Louis, but Atlanta needs to feel exactly what it feels like to hoist that trophy in the basketball world. But that's all I have for you guys. I just wanted to take a deep dive into this, show you guys everything that's surrounding around Jalen Johnson, and just really just big this up because this is a good thing. Normally, Atlanta Hawks aren't able to even mention when it comes to top superstars under any age unless it was Trey Young. So I'm happy about that. You guys let me know what you guys think in the comments. Can Jalen Johnson take us to the next level, or does he need help? Let me know what you think. Until next time, peace and blessings, Hawks fans, and I will holler.