Johnson back in lineup for Friday

Hawks guard Joe Johnson will return to the lineup Friday night after missing the past three games with a sprained right thumb.

Johnson practiced with the team Friday morning at the team’s shootaround at Philips Arena in preparation for the game against Toronto. His thumb was heavily taped.

“It’s alright,” Johnson said of his thumb, which he injured last week in the team’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s not where I really want it to be. It’s still sore, but that soreness is going to be there for quite some time. Just trying to help the team reach one of our goals, that’s trying to solidify the third spot.”

With four games remaining, the Hawks are tied with Boston for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference at 49-29. The Hawks need to finish ahead of the Celtics in order to take the third spot, as Boston owns the tiebreaker by virtue of being a division champion.

Without Johnson in the lineup, the Hawks went 1-2, beating Detroit last Saturday to run their home winning streak to 10, but then losing to Charlotte Tuesday and Detroit Wednesday, which ran their road losing streak to six games.

Coach Mike Woodson also said that backup center Jason Collins will miss the remainder of the regular season as a result of a foot injury sustained before Wednesday’s game at Detroit.

317 comments Add your comment

Grandad

April 9th, 2010
6:56 pm

ND:

It may not be fixed but it sure is tilted.

rusty

April 9th, 2010
7:04 pm

northcyde
when i look at jj i see a player who puts him self above the team. he dribbles the cloak away ,often takes bad shots or throws it out to the perimeter to js or mw,he does not play well with jc. he is a very streaky shooter & is not a good clutch player. when he tries to take oer the game at the end we usually lose. i dont even want to talk about woody as we all know he brings nothing to the table

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
7:04 pm

Josh hugging whats his face on the piston’s after choking tells me all I need to know about this team.

THE HAWKS HAVE NO HEART

drmaryb

April 9th, 2010
7:18 pm

WHO’S MY GRAND-DADDY?

I m telling the Blog-Bullies to back off my MAN! Didn’t your mamma’s teach YOU to respect your elders?

IMO JJ should shut it down for the regular season. However, a thumb sprain on the shooting hand is very serious & takes quite a while to heal. A fracture would have been better. Then you could splint it & play on.

I really wish Joe didn’t play tonite. If our bench was better/deeper? We wouldn’t need him tonite!
For all the Teague lovers? Maybe, he can step up & play some D. Maybe hit a few shots?

He can’t be any worse than the 7.5Mil $ Man.

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
7:32 pm

Why have the braves game on the same channel the hawks game is supposed to be on. I know it went into overtime but they know baseball takes 4ever.

Grandad

April 9th, 2010
7:37 pm

drmaryb:

It’s okay, trust me, I can handle myself.
I do appreciate you havin’ my back.
*Ken Strickland
*Sautee
*Big Ray
*Plus your dear friend – Clyde [my comrade in arms]
*& Others have covered me in the past, for which I am thankful.
KS – was very kind to show me the ropes, so to speak,
when I first came on board.
I must say… this blog is a hoot!
Go get ‘em ‘Grandaughter’.

NUNNA YO BIZNEZZ

April 9th, 2010
7:42 pm

Yo DOC!!

Teague plays more D than bibby does. And,he is not consistent in letting his man drive by him,like bibby does.
Bibbs has a better shot and makes as many mistakes as teague does..
So,where bibbs has the advantage on his offensive,teague has the advantage on the defensive end,period!!

As far as jj is concerned,he is tired and needs rest..I don’t believe his thumb is as bad as one might want us to believe. He had a bad flu or virus before the all star game in 2009,remember.But he came back all well rested as marvin took up the slack..

And did anyone pick up the hing that moe threw during the halftime interview on wednesday nite??
He said the increased production came from more playing time and that he has no plays ran for him..Just junk points..So,now,what was all this talk that was on here about how we need to put moe in the game more??When we now see that he makes his self open on 3’s,fast breaks and on the defensive end..There are a ton of players like that on every team,so,the next time u screaming for moe,remember,that he is coming out unless we need junk points..

his talent on the offense is not being utilized at all…

Najeh Davenpoop

April 9th, 2010
7:43 pm

Seriously, they couldn’t put the Braves on Peachtree TV today? Or even put the Thrashers on FSN, knowing that nobody is going to watch that game? Come on, man.

drmaryb

April 9th, 2010
7:45 pm

GRAND-DADDY

Them Bog-Bullies really don’t want to get me going either. I’ll eat them for snacks!

N-CYDE

You ROCK! As usual on here. Great post up & Dunk in the paint! -smiles-

Najeh

Where R You? I need your intellectual stimulation tonite!

Hawks not on yet! Will we see the 1st Qrtr tonite? They can delete the post-game show as far as I’m concerned.

[...] Friday, now that they’ve clinched a playoff spot … Joe Johnson(notes) (thumb) will be back in the lineup Friday … Al Jefferson(notes) remains away from the T-Wolves and won’t play Friday, [...]

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
7:48 pm

OMG now i just want the braves to lose

J.J.M.

April 9th, 2010
7:54 pm

the sorry same ol braves on tv

JC

April 9th, 2010
7:54 pm

Why can’t they just show the Hawks on SportsSouth until the Braves are done? That would only make sense. You mean to tell me Poker Championships is more important in these parts?

Big Ray

April 9th, 2010
7:55 pm

Grandad ,

I considered jumping to your defense before realizing that I would only be doing what your antagonist was doing in the first place: sticking my nose into a conversation that didn’t originally involve me. :)

Najeh Davenpoop

April 9th, 2010
7:55 pm

I think SportSouth is showing the Thrashers — the only one of these three teams that is eliminated from postseason contention. Brilliant.

Najeh Davenpoop

April 9th, 2010
7:56 pm

Well, Teague is in the game early today.

northcyde

April 9th, 2010
7:56 pm

Hawks ice cold right now. Teague in the game EARLY. Dang.

JC

April 9th, 2010
7:57 pm

Honestly are the Thrashers still relevant in ATL? I mean come on. One playoff appearance in 10 years of existence. IF they Mayflowered the team to Winnipeg tomorrow I wouldn’t shed any tears

JC

April 9th, 2010
7:58 pm

looking at the score I might have to reconsider wanting this Braves game to be over

J.J.M.

April 9th, 2010
7:59 pm

hawks are getting destroyed anyways

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
7:59 pm

who gives a sh.it about hockey

Big Ray

April 9th, 2010
7:59 pm

I see some of us continue to blame Horford for the lack of perimeter defense.

Damn. I didn’t know he was responsible for guaring the point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and his own man as well. And how about the all-star spot he earned? If that’s a “fill-in” then Joe Johnson is a one-time all-star and a three-time “fill-in”. Heh.

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
8:00 pm

OMG the hawks are losin to the chris bosh-less raptors

Smooth

April 9th, 2010
8:00 pm

Wow, 12.5% shooting thus far for the Hawks. Thank goodness for free throws.

J.J.M.

April 9th, 2010
8:01 pm

guess ill watch wwe smackdown

northcyde

April 9th, 2010
8:01 pm

Can’t get the Hawks game on FSN South ( territorial restrictions ) . . . they’re showing the Braves game

And it’s not a SportSouth game. Top Rank Boxing ( aka “no name fighters” ) is on.

So I’m forced to watch on the net, and listen to the Raptors broadcast ( until the NBA finds the signal and shuts it down )

Najeh Davenpoop

April 9th, 2010
8:02 pm

I bet the Raptors are playing zone, like they did in the 4th quarter the last time these two teams played when they came back and won.

JC

April 9th, 2010
8:03 pm

Are re resting Joe or did he reaggrivate his injury?

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
8:03 pm

don’t they have a contract that says they have to show the game

northcyde

April 9th, 2010
8:05 pm

There’s your bench folks. SMH

northcyde

April 9th, 2010
8:06 pm

JC . .. good question. He was the first guy out of the game.

Najeh Davenpoop

April 9th, 2010
8:07 pm

Well, that’s 14 points in the first quarter… add their usual 14 in the 4th quarter and you get 28… so they have to score about 35 points in the 2nd and 3rd to reach 100. Fantastic.

JC

April 9th, 2010
8:07 pm

My goodness, I’m gonna blow a gasket if we lose this game.

JC

April 9th, 2010
8:07 pm

This may be the worst first quarter of the season for the Hawks. Down by 11 already and only 14 points scored in the quarter. I know the Hawks tend to have slow starts at home, but it looks like they are going to have to pick it up sooner rather than later tonight.

Hawks vs Raptors

April 9th, 2010
8:07 pm

14 point first …. wow

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
8:08 pm

heres the link to to see the pathetic HAwks

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
8:08 pm

Najeh Davenpoop

April 9th, 2010
8:09 pm

Joe is in the game to start the 2nd. And 1 for him.

northcyde

April 9th, 2010
8:09 pm

Thank you JJ . . a quick 5

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
8:10 pm

But Woody doesn’t care about Defense. How do u score only 14 pts against the terrible defending raptors

Big Ray

April 9th, 2010
8:10 pm

I am glad to see Joe back.

Now if only it would actually do us some good.

We’re shooting 22% from the field, and the weak Raptors are hitting 55%.

So….what is the fan base supposed to be thinking about that, eh?

JC

April 9th, 2010
8:10 pm

On a positive note, the Hawks are really racking up the fouls on the Raptors early in this one.

vava74

April 9th, 2010
8:10 pm

northcyde,

I can’t get a feed to watch the match, could you post the link?

vava74

April 9th, 2010
8:11 pm

my usual sites all have a stream with the NBA league pass logo and that darn annoying music loop

northcyde

April 9th, 2010
8:11 pm

WTF? 5 FT attemtps already for JJ? Zaza is a little active tonight.

VenomSpitter

April 9th, 2010
8:12 pm

I already posted a link

vava74

April 9th, 2010
8:12 pm

alright Venom, I’ll look back

Mel

April 9th, 2010
8:13 pm

missed switch by joe

J.J.M.

April 9th, 2010
8:13 pm

come on giants end this game

Big Ray

April 9th, 2010
8:14 pm

Northcyde ,

As fun as it may be to make snide remarks about the bench, it’s kind of hard to ignore the starting lineup going 4 for 16….

But for a couple of buckets by Zaza (oops, bench guy) and Joe warming up to ummm…40%…we’d still be down by double figures.