In my younger days, I attended the Church of Baywatch. The reasoning? To learn about lifeguarding, of course! If you believe that then let me tell you a story of how I eschewed a contract offer to be the starting shooting guard from my hometown Lakers so that I could write about fantasy basketball from my mom’s basement.
Baywatch was all about the bodies, and that was my inspiration for this Muscle Watch piece because the offseason is filled with stories of every player being in the best shape of their lives and putting on 10 to 20 pounds of muscle. But this is no B-rated publication that you’ve subscribed to. It’s The Athletic and you deserve A-quality analysis. And deliver I shall try as I not only bring Muscle Watch content, but dig deeper and highlight notable quotes from training camp and interesting tidbits from preseason action. So sit back and enjoy the show!
ATLANTA HAWKS
Jalen Johnson — Johnson is a 6-foot-8, 219-pound small forward who played his college ball at Duke and was the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He only played 22 games with the Hawks last season and spent most of the time down in the G League while suffering a bevy of injuries, including a non-surgical left knee procedure at the end of the season. He’s healthy now and showed off his flea-like hops during Summer League. More importantly, though, Nate McMillan said “Jalen will get minutes this year.” Johnson is second on the depth chart behind John Collins, and minutes are half the battle.