The Atlanta Hawks return to the road to face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday after playing without Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher in their last game. Both players are questionable to return against the defending Eastern Conference champions. Here is everything we know about Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher's injuries and their playing statuses against the Pacers.
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Jalen Johnson's injury status vs. Pacers
Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) dunks against the Phoenix Suns in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Johnson has missed five games in his fifth season, including the Hawks' 104-86 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday. He sat out of that game, which was the second leg of a back-to-back, with a calf injury, and head coach Quin Snyder noted that his team really suffered from Johnson's absence.
The Hawks were also without Onyeka Okongwu in the loss, which Snyder also despised. Atlanta started Christian Koloko and Vit Krejci in place of its two absent forwards, who combined for just 15 points.
Atlanta will hope to have Johnson back with Okongwu already ruled out for Saturday's game. The 25-year-old remains sidelined with a dental fracture after taking an elbow to the face from Jaylen Brown on Wednesday.
Before Thursday, Johnson had not missed a game since late December. Calf injuries should never be played with, but the timing of his hiatus seemed more like a precaution than anything. Consider Johnson on the right side of questionable to return on Saturday.
Zaccharie Risacher's injury status vs. Pacers
Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) goes in for a dunk against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at State Farm Arena.
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
While Johnson has missed just one game, Risacher has not played for the Hawks since Jan. 7. The former No. 1 overall pick has been sidelined with a knee contusion, but he did travel with the team to Indianapolis and is questionable to return after missing the last 11 games.
The Hawks have been experimenting with different starting lineups sans Risacher, but they appear to have settled on Corey Kispert as their stand-in starter. Atlanta acquired Kispert as part of the Trae Young deal shortly after Risacher's injury. Kispert is coming off back-to-back strong efforts, scoring 13 points in a win over the Boston Celtics and 17 against the Rockets.
Risacher has been listed as questionable for the last few games, making it difficult to gauge his true progress. If he returns on Saturday, it would be his first time playing with the new-look Hawks since they sent Young to the Washington Wizards for C.J. McCollum and Kispert.
Hawks injury report
N'Faly Dante — OUT, torn ACL
RayJ Dennis — Doubtful, G League
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Nikola Djurisic — Doubtful, G League
Caleb Houstan — Doubtful, G League
Jalen Johnson — Questionable, left calf tightness
Onyeka Okongwu — OUT, dental fracture
Kristaps Porzingis — OUT, left Achilles tendinitis
Zaccharie Risacher — Questionable, left knee contusion
Pacers injury report
Tyrese Haliburton — OUT, torn Achilles
Taelon Peter — Doubtful, G League
Ethan Thompson — Doubtful, G League
Obi Toppin — OUT, right foot stress fracture