ATL 121, UTA 119: Jock Landale Clutch in 2-Point Thriller
Destiny Williams
Math Teacher & Basketball Coach ยท Atlanta Hawks fan
Hawks Sneak Past Jazz 121-119, But the Real Story is Isaiah Collier's Breakout Night
Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. I had this game circled on my calendar the second the schedule dropped. Hawks-Jazz matchup, home game for my squad in Atlanta, and honestly it delivered exactly what you want on a Friday night. Close game, clutch moments, and some absolutely wild fantasy performances that nobody saw coming.
Final score: Hawks 121, Jazz 119. Two points. That's not just a W for Atlanta, that's the kind of game that separates the fantasy players who pay attention from the ones who panic-add whoever went off on ESPN.com at halftime.
Top Performers
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Johnson | 66.0 | 65.7 | 22/16/15 | 23.2/10.5/8.0 | -1.2 |
| Isaiah Collier | 61.0 | 56.9 | 25/7/11 | 9.6/2.6/7.0 | +15.4 |
| Jock Landale | 69.0 | 56.7 | 26/11/5 | 11.3/6.5/1.7 | +14.7 |
| Nickeil Alexander-Walker | 46.0 | 38.9 | 23/2/5 | 20.3/3.5/3.5 | +2.7 |
| Ace Bailey | 34.0 | 37.7 | 20/6/1 | 11.3/3.6/1.6 | +8.7 |
| Kyle Filipowski | 29.0 | 33.9 | 15/17/1 | 9.5/6.4/2.1 | +5.5 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 30.0 | 27.5 | 18/5/1 | 27.4/7.0/2.2 | -9.4 |
| Dyson Daniels | 24.0 | 26.2 | 11/6/6 | 11.4/6.5/6.3 | -0.4 |
| Cody Williams | 23.0 | 24.8 | 5/4/2 | 6.0/2.2/0.9 | -1.0 |
| Brice Sensabaugh | 25.0 | 24.8 | 18/4/2 | 12.1/2.9/1.6 | +5.9 |
Jalen Johnson is the Glue Guy You Need
Here's something I tell my middle school team constantly: sometimes the stat line is more important than the final box score. Jalen Johnson put up 22/16/15 on 9-19 shooting, which sounds okay until you realize those 15 assists are SEVEN above his season average. That's not margin of error. That's a player running the offense like a maestro.
66 ESPN points for one guy in a close game? That's your anchor. He didn't need to shoot great (47.4% isn't bad but it's not carrying a team) because he was creating for everybody else. That's the type of performance you can actually count on night to night because it's about basketball IQ, not just hot shooting.
The Hawks won a close one partially because Johnson got everyone involved when they needed buckets most. That's a fantasy asset you can trust down the stretch of the season.
Isaiah Collier Just Became a Problem
Okay, real talk. Isaiah Collier averaged 9.6 points and 7.0 assists all season, right? Tonight he dropped 25 and 11 on 48 minutes of action.
That's not a good game. That's a coming-out party.
He shot 11-22 from the field, played literally the entire game, and ran the Jazz offense like he finally figured out the keys. The +15.4 points above his season average isn't a fluke. This is a kid who was getting minutes but wasn't being utilized correctly, and something clicked tonight.
Now here's where I pump the brakes a little bit. Jazz probably don't win that game without him going nuclear, so this might be one of those "great individual game, team still lost" situations. But 56.9 Yahoo FP from a guy who's been floating around at 9-10 per game? That gets people's attention. Ownership on him jumped to 83.1%, and honestly, that might not be enough depending on your league size. If Collier is available in your 12-team, you're making a mistake not at least having a conversation about it.
Jock Landale Cooked From Everywhere
I gotta hand it to Jock Landale. This dude went 10-14 from the field, hit 5 threes, and somehow grabbed 11 boards in just 31 minutes. That's 56.7 Yahoo points in under half a game.
What's wild is he's been averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds all season. Add 14.7 to those numbers and you see what happens when a role player gets hot at the right time. He didn't play 38 minutes like Johnson. He didn't run the offense. He just got buckets and cleaned the glass when he was out there.
The question for your roster: can you trust this to happen again? Probably not at this exact rate. But what you CAN trust is that when Landale gets 31 minutes of court time, he's gonna contribute at a level that won't sink your week. He's the kind of glue guy I always tell my coaching clinics to value. Doesn't blow you away, but doesn't hurt you either.
Ace Bailey Getting Minutes (But Shooting Like Me)
Ace Bailey has gone from "who is this guy" to league-owned in 29.8% of leagues after tonight. I get it. The kid played 40 minutes, shot 20 points, and grabbed 6 boards.
But let's talk about that 9-26 field goal attempt line. That's 34.6% shooting. That's not sustainable. That's not even good. He was jacking and missing, which is fine when your team is winning, but in a close game like this, that kind of volume on bad efficiency is a red flag.
Bailey's getting the minutes, which is the important part. He's touching the ball enough that a breakout night is possible. But one 37.7 Yahoo point game doesn't mean he's a league winner. It means he had one good night with bad shooting that happened to produce points anyway. I'd pump the brakes on burning your waiver wire priority on this guy unless he's in your last few bench spots and you got nothing to lose.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Stayed Efficient
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is already owned in 83.1% of leagues, so this isn't exactly breaking news. But 23 points on 9-15 shooting with 5 assists in 33 minutes is exactly what you want to see from a starter. He was +2.7 above his season average, which tells you he showed up without going absolutely nuclear.
That's your third option playing at the level you need him to. Nothing flashy, nothing concerning. Just a professional night.
The Markkanen Letdown
I gotta mention Lauri Markkanen because this is what happens when your stars don't show up in close games. All-NBA Third Team selection, and he played 23 minutes going 6-12 with 18 points. Those are his numbers, but the +/- tells the story: minus 9.4 points compared to his season average.
Markkanen was basically a non-factor down the stretch. In a two-point game, that's the difference between winning and losing from a fantasy perspective. You're not dropping him or anything, but nights like this remind you that star power doesn't always translate to fantasy consistency, especially in tight contests.
What This Means for Your Waiver Wire
Adds to consider: Collier should be getting serious looks in 12-team leagues if he's somehow still available. His ownership bump is real, but at 83.1% league-wide, he might already be gone depending on your setup. Landale is interesting if you need frontcourt depth and he gets consistent 25+ minute looks moving forward.
Don't overreact to: Bailey's one good game. Shooting 9-26 is unsustainable, even in the NBA. He'll get you minutes, but don't mortgage your future for him.
Real talk: This Hawks team just beat the Jazz in a close one, and my squad showed they can win without their stars lighting it up. That's the kind of grit that matters come playoff time, and it means their role players are gonna be valuable down the stretch. Sometimes the best fantasy asset isn't the guy who went off for 65 points. It's the team that knows how to win close games, because those guys get the ball in crunch time.
That's the lesson from tonight.