Jalen Johnson's Ankle Keeps Him Questionable and Bettors Guessing for Friday
Jalen Johnson (ankle) listed questionable for Friday.
Seeing on the NBA injury report is basically a scheduled event at this point. Underdog NBA reported Thursday that the Atlanta forward is officially listed as questionable for Friday with an ankle injury.
This is the same left ankle sprain that kept him in street clothes for Wednesday night's game against the Washington . Now, anyone trying to build a lineup for Friday is officially stuck in a holding pattern.
The collective groan from the basketball world is entirely tied to how absurdly good Johnson is when his joints actually cooperate. He is currently wrecking opposing defenses to the tune of 21.7 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Just recently, he posted a 31-point, 18-rebound, 14-assist, and 7-steal game. You do not get those numbers in a real NBA game unless the opposing defense has completely unplugged their controllers.
But keeping him on the floor is a completely different challenge. A quick scroll through his recent medical history reads like a CVS receipt, featuring shoulder, calf, thigh, and multiple ankle issues just in the last calendar year.
For the betting and fantasy markets, a questionable tag on a guy with a $9,900 DFS salary is a massive headache. If Johnson sits, Atlanta's entire offensive geometry shifts, forcing you to guess which bench player is about to randomly absorb his massive usage rate.
Keep an eye on the shootaround reports Friday morning. Until the make a final call on that ankle, every spread and player prop tied to Atlanta is essentially a random number generator.