Apr 26 2009
Joe Must Go in Atlanta
The Joe Johnson Show needs to end in Atlanta. The Hawks popular saying this year has been “Now You Know“, but this message is more for Hawks fans than anything. Joe has been given every opportunity to succeed in Atlanta and he continues to get worse. No improvements in his game over the past couple of years and his streaky play on the court, doesn’t deserve the amount of minutes he’s getting. He was 3rd in the NBA this year in minutes played per game and he’s probably the 7th or 8th best player on the Hawks team. You’re not going to do your best when you have a lesser talent on the team eating up all of the minutes. Joe can’t play consistent ball and it seems everyone in Hawk Nation knows this; except for the coach Mike Woodson.
Now You Know…
Woodson continues to keep Joe Johnson on the court and he’s the main problem right now. The Miami Heat have beat the Hawks easily the last two games in the playoffs and this series isn’t looking good for the Hawks. Joe needs to be benched and he needs it now. No sense keeping him out there when he’s not producing positive results. Coach Woodson has no feel for the game and seems more concerned with total points by quarter than anything. He does not understand that Joe Johnson is a wasted player on the court right now and he’s not producing at either end of the floor.
Now You Know…
Joe missed point blank shots Saturday Night in Miami as the Heat routed the Hawks big in South Florida. The Heat now has a 2 to 1 lead in the playoff series and it’s not going to get any better unless Mike Woodson adjusts the personnel on the floor. Josh Smith is the guy you must get going and the team feeds off of him. He can be a great weapon on road games and you don’t need your 15,000 fans; when number 5 can bring his own source of energy. He has the type of talent that can make opposing fans cheer and Mike Woodson isn’t given him the chance. Josh Smith is the leader of the Hawks and this is his team. Joe has had the team for 3 years and he still can’t lead us no where. He doesn’t rotate well on defense, takes plays off, and is often not hustling like he should be out there.
Now You Know…
The Joe Show is over in Atlanta and it has been for some time now. He’s the highest paid player on the team, so benching him does make the front office look bad. It makes them look even worse when Joe Johnson is simply on the floor because he is the highest paid Atlanta Hawk. Joe Johnson is the reason for our sluggish half court game and he holds on to the ball too long. Often he is just dribbling around going no where and for some reason; he likes to keep the ball a few extra seconds after a double team is on top of him. Joe Johnson is the main reason the Atlanta Hawks lost the last 2 games in this playoff series with the Miami Heat. You can’t expect the results to change if you keep sending the same guys out there and leaving them on the floor for the same minutes. Let’s get players in the game that produce and let’s not take the amount of their paychecks in the basketball decisions our team needs to be making.
The Atlanta Hawks play again on Monday Night against the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the Playoff Series. The Tip-Off Time is 8PM EST and Game 4 will be played in Miami, Florida. Miami leads the Series 2 to 1 in a best of 7 Series.
Wow, how clueless can you be and how stupid do you feel right now? The guy averaged 21 and 6 a game and you’re saying he is the 7th or 8th best player on the team?! Your complete disregard of the facts is ming boggling. This team wouldn’t be in the playoffs without Joe. The guy gets doubled and tripled team for a reason you freaking genius! Why do you think Flip, Bibby, Evans have such open shots!? And you lost the little credibility you had when you claimed that is Josh Smith’s team and you actually went far enough to call him a leader! WOW! Josh Smith continues to prove how NOT to lead a team. You ignored the facts again by calling him a great weapon in road games. Did you actually watch this series?
Hi, yes I did watch the series. The blog post was done before the series was completed. Now Josh Smith is a great weapon on the road because of his above the rim play. He can get opposing team’s fans cheering for him and can help win road games in general.
Josh Smith is a leader in his on the court actions. He does have a problem with complaining to the referees, but his basketball play is that of a leader. He gets his shirt untucked on the court and you don’t see this from Joe Johnson.
Yes, Joe Johnson has nice stats because he plays 40+ minutes a game. If you look at production per minute; then Joe Johnson is like 8th or 9th on the team. Flip Murray and Mario West both have higher per minute production than Joe Johnson. If the Hawks would play these stats on the court, you would see a better product on the floor for the Atlanta Hawks.
Game 7 was very important. Joe Johnson played all 12 minutes and didn’t score in the first period, had turnovers, and made poor decisions. His play does not deserve the mintues he is getting. He was a big reason for the Hawk’s explosion in the mid quarters, but knocking down 40 foot three pointers is not the way to get it done.
Joe Johnson was effective in Games 5 and 7 and helped the team in those 2 games. He was a no-show for the other 5 games or did very little to help. Why did Joe Johnson get 40 mintues in these games? You can wait around on some stars to get their game going, but Joe doesn’t have a game worth waiting on. He’s just another piece in the Hawks puzzle and a piece that is being misplaced nightly by Mike Woodson and the Atlanta Hawks.
Thanks for your comment and I understand your reasons for replying.