Hawks' playoff hopes take hit with pair of devastating injury updates

Both players are dealing with sprains, and Johnson will be reevaluated in three weeks. Okongwu, on the other hand, has a longer timeline and will be reevaluated in four weeks.

Unless Atlanta goes on an unlikely deep playoff run, neither player will appear on the court again this season.

The Hawks (36-44, 10th in Eastern Conference) will play the Bulls (37-42, ninth in Eastern Conference) in the 9-10 Eastern Conference play-in game. 

If they win, the Hawks would then need to beat the loser of the 7-8 play-in game, which is likely to be between the 76ers (45-35, seventh in Eastern Conference) and the Heat (44-36, eight in Eastern Conference), to get a chance to play the Celtics (62-17, first in Eastern Conference) in the first round of the playoffs.

Johnson and Okongwu have only appeared in a combined 17 games since the beginning of March, but would've served as valuable depth for a team already missing a starter. On March 28, the team announced forward Saddiq Bey (knee) would miss the remainder of the season.

If not for the league's 65-game minimum to qualify for end-of-season awards, Johnson would be a Most Improved Player candidate. The No. 20 pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, he appeared in 56 games and averaged 16 points, up from his 5.6 points per game average in 2022-23. On April 3, he tied a career-high with 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting in a win against the Pistons.

He's also emerged as one of the team's best defenders and a strong rebounder. Per Basketball Reference, Johnson's 26.9 percent defensive rebound rate is the highest for any non-power forward or center. 

Okongwu scored a career-high 22 points earlier this season and averaged 25.5 minutes per game, also the most in his four-year NBA career.

With their absences, even more pressure is on guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. The pairing hasn't worked the way the team would have hoped, which is a major reason why the Hawks are on the brink of their season's end.

Per NBA.com, the duo has been outscored by 3.1 points in 48 games together.