The Morning TiltMonday, March 23, 2026

Four days until the Braves open. Eleven games left for the Hawks. One shoulder that might determine what kind of week this becomes.

Hawks

Dyson Daniels scored a season-high 28 points Saturday night — 15 of them in the first quarter — and the Hawks rolled Golden State 126-110 for their tenth straight home win. CJ McCollum added 23. Mouhamed Gueye posted a 16-and-10 double-double. The Hawks shot 54% from the floor. They did all of this without Jalen Johnson, who sat with left shoulder inflammation.

That last part is the story. Johnson is questionable for tonight's game against Memphis (7:00 PM, State Farm Arena), and the answer matters more than the matchup. The Grizzlies are 24-46 and lost to Charlotte by 23 on Saturday. This is a game the Hawks should win regardless. The question is whether Johnson's shoulder is a night off or a developing problem. Simone has the deeper read on what this Hawks team is becoming without needing to lean on any single player — it is one of her better pieces this spring. And if you think the schedule-strength crowd has a point, Dex would like a word.

At 39-32, the Hawks sit sixth in the East with roughly eleven games remaining. The home record is carrying them. Johnson's shoulder is the variable that determines whether it keeps carrying.

Braves

Opening Day is Friday. Royals. 7:15 PM. Truist Park. Walt Weiss manages his first game as the man in charge, promoted from bench coach after the Brian Snitker era ended.

The rotation is set: Sale, Strider, Lopez, Holmes, Elder. It looks clean on paper. The depth behind it does not. Schwellenbach and Waldrep are both hurt. Joey Wentz is done for the year with a torn ACL. Strider's fastball is sitting 95-96, down from the pre-injury 98-99, and the question of whether this version of Strider can still dominate will define the first month. Ellis has the rotation depth breakdown, and it is thorough enough to make you nervous.

The feel-good story: Didier Fuentes, 20 years old, made the Opening Day roster out of the bullpen. His spring line — 9 innings, zero hits, zero runs, zero walks, 17 strikeouts — is not a typo. He retired 26 of 27 batters he faced. Last year he allowed 20 runs in 13 innings. Something changed. Ellis traces the Fuentes-Strider comparison and makes a convincing case for patience. Dex thinks the math tells a less heartwarming story.

The less pleasant news: Jurickson Profar is suspended 162 games after a second positive PED test. Appeal denied. Season over. Ha-seong Kim is out until early May after finger tendon surgery — slipped on ice in South Korea. Mauricio Dubon, a two-time Gold Glove winner, slides to shortstop. The roster deadline is noon Wednesday.

Falcons

Michael Penix Jr. is rehabbing his third career ACL surgery and says he is ahead of schedule, targeting Week 1. The Falcons signed Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year veteran minimum deal as insurance. Both quarterbacks are left-handed, which means the scheme stays the same regardless of who starts. Low-risk math from the new front office.

Jahan Dotson signed a two-year, $17 million deal to replace Darnell Mooney at receiver. Dotson was a first-round pick in 2022 and gives Kevin Stefanski a reliable target for whichever left-handed quarterback takes the field in September.

The shadow over the offseason: James Pearce Jr., whose 10.5 rookie sacks helped the Falcons set a franchise record with 57 as a team, faces three felony charges — aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police, and resisting an officer with violence — stemming from a February incident in Miami-Dade County. His hearing is set for April 21. No first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Whatever this defense becomes next season, it needs Pearce available.

Atlanta United

Saturday's 0-0 draw against DC United is the game Tito dissected. Atlanta held 65% possession, generated nine shots, and put two on target. Two. His diagnosis of the finishing problem is specific and structural — and it should concern you.

The record sits at 1-3-1 through five matches. Four points. That is a 0.80 points-per-game pace in a league where you need roughly 1.5 to make the playoffs. The Almiron-Miranchuk connection — three assists from Almiron, three goals from Miranchuk — is developing into something real. But a front three that cannot convert 65% possession into a single goal against a low block has a structural problem, not a finishing slump.

Tata Martino's return was supposed to restore something. The creation is there. The finishing is not. That gap is the season.

One more thing. Four teams, four different clocks, one week where all of them tick at once. Simone wrote about why that matters more than it usually does. But the most important body part in Atlanta sports this week belongs to Jalen Johnson's left shoulder. The Hawks can beat Memphis without him tonight. They cannot navigate a playoff push without him for long. Tip is at 7:00. We will know more by 9:30.