Nearly 30 games into the season, the Atlanta Hawks find themselves in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. One of a handful of teams that are bunched together just a game back of the 3rd seed, head coach Quin Snyder’s group has remained competitive even without the services of Trae Young, who made his return last night in Charlotte after being out with a knee injury since October. Leading the charge for Atlanta in his absence has been 5th year forward Jalen Johnson, a versatile 6’8” wing
who does a bit of everything and has improved every season since going 20th overall out of Duke in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The San Antonio Spurs meanwhile are looking to notch another road win. After holding it down as admirably as they did while Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle missed time with injuries, San Antonio finds itself healthy and complete coming off of their trip to Vegas. They have plenty of work to do: They’re one of 7 teams in the league this year with single digits in the loss column, but are just 1 of the 5 such teams in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference. It won’t be easy to maintain positioning, but there’s still plenty of basketball left to be played and another level that this squad can hopefully get to.
San Antonio Spurs (19-7) at Atlanta Hawks (15-13)
December 19 2025 | 6:30 PM CT
Watch: FDSS | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: None
Hawks Injuries: Eli John Ndiaye, day to day, Kristaps Porzingis, illness (OUT), N’Faly Dante, concussion (OUT)
What to watch for
- Jalen Johnson has emerged as a potential franchise cornerstone-type of player for Atlanta. He’s not only filled the roll of go-to scorer seamlessly in the absence of Trae Young, but he’s also their leading rebounder and assist man (8.2). The latter is all the more impressive considering Atlanta is currently leading the NBA in assists per game (30.8). It remains to be seen what sort of impact Young’s recent return to the court will have on Johnson’s game, but Quinn Snyder certainly has a good problem on his hands as far as offensive firepower goes. Johnson is coming off of a career-high 43 point performance in Atlanta’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets last night, also grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists as well.
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker has turned out to be a sneaky good free agent signing. Alexander-Walker came over to Atlanta after three years and two trips to the Western Conference Finals with the Minnesota Timberwolves and is currently enjoying the best statistical season across the board of his career. After starting just 30 games total the last two seasons with the Timberwolves, he’s already started 22 of 25 games in the Atlanta backcourt due to the injury to Trae Young. Alexander-Walker once again came off the bench last night, scoring 28 in a losing effort.
- After not registering a single minute in any of San Antonio’s final three Cup games, Jeremy Sochan found his way back on the court last night against the Washington Wizards. Sochan has sort of been the odd man out this season in San Antonio’s rotation as far as guys who have been around the team for a few years, but he’s been a good sport about the situation. His playing time is something to monitor going forward.
- Victor Wembanyama came off the bench for the third game in a row last night as the Spurs ease him back into the rotation. With tonight being a SEGABABA, it would be very on-brand for the Spurs to announce he’s out tonight, wouldn’t it? Wembanyama did log just 17 minutes in San Antonio’s win last night, so perhaps there won’t even be a thought of a last minute scratch.
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