Atlanta

Hawks

After missing Atlanta’s most recent game for conditioning reasons, Poriņģis will not be available on Friday due to illness. As has been the case in the past, Onyeka Okongwu will remain the starter. Okongwu is already rostered in most fantasy leagues, so nothing changes there.

Shams notes that, “Hawks star Trae Young, who sustained a sprained MCL on Oct. 29, is optimistic about returning to action this month. The Hawks have gone 12-8 without Young in the lineup, and they believe his fit with a rising core in Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu will elevate the team.” It’s an encouraging update, but there is still no clear timeline for Young’s return. Fantasy managers should continue monitoring his status.

Toppin injured his right shoulder in late November while playing for the Hawks’ G League affiliate. Diagnosed with a torn labrum, he underwent surgery on Monday and will not play again this season. While Toppin’s absence does not affect the Hawks’ rotation, he’ll miss out on what could have been valuable in-game reps in College Park.

Johnson’s metamorphosis into one of the league’s most impactful all-around contributors continued in this one, as he recorded his second straight triple-double and his fourth in his last 12 games. The 24-year-old has operated as Atlanta’s primary offensive catalyst all season, delivering bona fide first-round fantasy value. He’s averaging a ridiculous 26.4 points, 12.0 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.4 blocks over his last seven contests. Are you not entertained? The Hawks are off until Friday when they face the Pistons before closing out a brief two-game week with a home tilt against the 76ers.

Okongwu took advantage of Washington’s injury-depleted frontcourt and historically porous defense, and the absence of fellow big Kristaps Porziņģis on the second night of a back-to-back, to knock down 10-of-17 shots and eclipse the 20-point plateau for the eighth time this season. He’s delivered fifth-round value for fantasy managers this season, averaging 16 points, 7.4 rebounds, three assists, 0.9 steals and 1.1 blocks through 24 contests.

Alexander-Walker fell just shy of reaching the 20-point mark for the sixth consecutive game as he knocked down just 3-of-10 from long range. The 27-year-old guard has stepped up in a big way from an offensive standpoint while Trae Young remains sidelined with an MCL sprain in his knee.

Porzingis will miss Saturday’s game for conditioning reasons. The 30-year-old power forward missed Friday’s game against the Nuggets with an illness and has missed the last five games. Onyeka Okongwu will start, but he’s already rostered in most fantasy leagues.

Following a four-game absence due to an illness, Porzingis was back in the rotation for this game. He came off the bench for the first time this season and only the second time in his career, which allowed Onyeka Okongwu to remain a starter. That likely isn’t a permanent change, since Porzingis was on a minutes restriction, but he thrived during his 20 minutes on the floor. This was the first of a back-to-back, and Porziņģis hasn’t played in both legs of a back-to-back this year.

Johnson became the first player in Hawks history to record a triple-double in a single half. He wasn’t quite as productive in the second half, but he was still able to set a new career high for assists and match his career high for rebounds. Johnson missed Wednesday’s game due to right calf tightness, and he was questionable to play in this one. It didn’t seem to bother him, but there is certainly a chance he is back on the injury report ahead of Saturday’s game against the Wizards since it is the second of a back-to-back.

This was the fifth straight game that NAW was able to score at least 20 points, and four of his nine career 30-point games have come over the last 15 days. It has been a spectacular first year in Atlanta for NAW, and he’ll continue to shine as a starter until Trae Young (knee) returns. His value will take a hit after that, but he should still be productive enough to be worth rostering in standard leagues.