Atlanta Hawks: Next Day J.J.
Joe Johnson didn’t exactly take it back today. He was mad that fans booed the Hawks throughout their Game 3 loss to Orlando and afterward told reporters he “could care less if they showed up or not.”
Asked if he had any more thoughts on the topic after sleeping on it, J.J. said:
“It was tough. I don’t think we’ve heard the boos like that in the five years since I’ve been here. When I first got here, man, there were probably like 100 people out there in those seats. I won’t say everybody is a diehard, but they’ve shown us a lot of support over the years. In the heat of the battle you tend to say a lot of things. But it was tough, man. I was a little [ticked] off but I am over now.”
His comments have led to speculation that he sounds like a guy who doesn’t like it in Atlanta anymore and can’t wait to leave via free agency this summer. But Johnson said that’s taking it too far.
“Don’t read in between all of that,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed my years here. They’ve been great. We’ll see what happens Monday.”
That’s not a farewell speech, is it?
“No, not at all,” he said.
Some context on J.J.’s postgame comments. Normally he takes a while to get dressed before he faces reporters. But after Game 3 he was just out of the shower and immediately beckoned media when he made it to his stall. The question that led to the inflammatory quote was whether fans booing affected him or the team.
So does he care if fans show up for Game 4 tomorrow?
“If they come out and show us support, it would be great,” he said.
During a separate interview, Woody also touched on the fans and their expectations. The question was regarding Al Horford’s contention that the Hawks are a loose, fun-loving group that sometimes doesn’t know when it’s time to get serious (an observation I’ve made as well).
Woody agreed with that and then talked about how in the past he’s been viewed as a coach who is too demanding, how Hawks players don’t make negative headlines off the court, and then about the team’s chemistry:
“We do have a young group of good guys who do like each other. But when you face adversity, sometimes guys stray off and you start to point fingers. That ain’t always good in terms of your team. Sometimes you find out a lot about people when you do lose. We haven’t lost very many games this year, especially in this building. And people expect you to win. That’s a good thing. I think coming into the season, I made that very clear that expectations are going to be higher this year, and they should be. You should want it that way. People are going to expect much more than they’ve ever expected even though we’v4e never been an elite team, we are trying to get to that level. People sometimes expect too much, especially here in this arena where we’ve been pretty successful the last couple years. We’ve kind of spoiled our fans a little bit. Maybe that’s why they turned last night in terms of the boos and things of that nature because it was a lackluster game on our part.”
MC
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269 comments Add your comment
Westurd
May 10th, 2010
4:52 pm
GoldenRetriever:
Where can I get my hands on some of the good stuff your smoking…
Mystikal
May 10th, 2010
4:55 pm
I think we can all agree that the main thing we need is a new coach. Woody does not develop players, makes no adjustments on offense, and when his team completely implodes on national TV he does nothing; and didn’t even get angry about it after the game. I do think we could use a shake up, but I think keeping JJ is better than not having him. I am no longer on the “Get Chris Bosh” bandwagon.
I think we should try to get Al Jefferson and their second 1st rd pick from Minnesota for Josh Smith and whatever (Childress/2nd rounders). This would give us a true banging center and give the wolves an exciting player to build around. I think the forward position was hurting us with Marvin Williams not being a true small forward(tweener syndrome) and Josh Smith being undersized on top of having no true skill set(can’t shoot, can’t handle, no post moves). This trade would allow Horford to move to his natural PF position. He is a winner and has skillz we haven’t seen yet (and may be best passer on team). Plus he and Jefferson should lead the league on the boards.
By the way, with that 1st rounder like to pick one of the young bigs to groom (Whiteside/Orton) for the future. Oh yeah and Teague should be our starting point guard. Bibby is overpayed to just get lit up consistently and hit a big shot every 4th or 5th game.
cp
May 10th, 2010
4:57 pm
You know guys are pulling muscles from reaching when they think we should have taken Mullens who did even less than the guy we took this year.. I watched a lot of Thunder games this year and I didn’t even see flashes from that guy. Just because he is tall doesn’t mean the kid is going to be good. He was a disappointment at Ohio State and I wouldn’t be shocked if he didn’t turn out to be any good on the NBA level.
Grandad
May 10th, 2010
5:02 pm
Peter:
Wanna bet?
I wish there was a way to set up a wager.
Your point is well taken as I was speaking
about Marv as a [4] on off.
But in Wdsn’s system he’s been guarding everything From
1 thru 5 with all the switches anyhow.
*(Under Wdsn’s defense of course)
MrWrestling4
May 10th, 2010
5:06 pm
I’ve checked the trade machine and this one works like a charm for both teams. We send Marvin to the Nets in exchange for an off-brand, 12 pack of new headbands. Anyone have Sund’s email?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 10th, 2010
5:15 pm
“WHY isn’t Rick Sund on the hook?”
I’m no huge fan of Sund’s track record, but he’s been decent as a Hawks GM. Ultimately, what Jeff Teague becomes, what this year’s draft pick becomes, and whether he can keep Joe at a reasonable enough price or get something good in return will determine whether or not he is successful.
northcyde
May 10th, 2010
5:18 pm
Tony . . look at it this way. Have you ever said something out of frustration, but then thought about it . . and realize that you didn’t mean it? Be honest.
I mean . . we as sports fans come on these boards, blogs, and sports talk shows, and literally rip into players on a daily basis. Up until this moment, people may have said that JJ wasn’t a superstar caliber player, but they’ve never questioned the guy’s character.
We have a group of guys in ATl who have NEVER been in any sort of trouble. Not even a minor incident. And JJ has never spoken out about anything like this before. He’s even been criticized about not doing this sort of thing to address teammates.
It was a bad and stupid comment that he said. But it was obviously said out of frustration. A lot of the comments being tossed at JJ and the other Hawks, are being said out of frustration.
In essence, it’s basically the same thing. These players, like the fans, are not robots. We all have feelings. Just think how Marvin has felt the past 5 years, having to know that he has to constantly be reminded that the Hawks shouldn’t have taken him. How he’s not lived up to the #2 pick. And then listen to the fans constantly rip him ( even when he plays decent ), because he’s not a budding star like a Dany Granger.
That HAS to affect Marvin. And while he deserves some of the criticism, he doesn’t deserve the flat out hatred people throw at him.
But most of those fans say those things out of frustration to what he hasn’t become, compared to what his potential was supposed to be. some of those fans don’t mean to rip into Marvin and call him names ( some do though ).
It’s the same situation with JJ. Be mad at him if you want. But realize that it was said out of frustration.
If Bostn fans can forgive Kevin Garnett for telling fans to their faces to . “don’t come to the f—ing games” . . after the Boston faithful booed the Celtics after being trounced by the Wizards in April . . then surely Hawks fans can forgive JJ for these comments, starting tonight . . and especially if he’s brought back here next season.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 10th, 2010
5:20 pm
“S & T:
N.O. gets Joe
We get Collison, *Stojakovic (contract) *[per Najeh]
They would do it in a heartbeat if we would take Okafor.”
Yeah, I purposely didn’t include Okafor, even though he would be the ideal bench big man who can play center, guard Howard, and let Horford slide to the 4 for stretches, because his contract is just horrendous. You’re right, New Orleans would love to be rid of him especially if they get a player of Joe’s caliber in return.
Let me also ask one other thing: niremetal pointed out that sign and trades rarely net viable players in return because of the protracted negotiation period, but didn’t the Lakers sign-and-trade Ariza for Artest last summer?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 10th, 2010
5:25 pm
I won’t boo Joe at the start because as idiotic as his comments (and Woody’s comments) were, Joe has still done a lot for this long-suffering franchise to lift them back towards relevancy, and if tonight is the last game he plays here, that would be a sh-tty way to send him off. But if he and the rest of the team play as lifeless as they did in Game 3, you can bet the boo birds will be out by the end of the first quarter.
TheAntiMe
May 10th, 2010
5:30 pm
I don’t think that anyone is going to pay Joe the max, which is good, because that means that he can stay right here without the infamously frugal ASG having to pay him any more than they offered him to stay a year ago.
Sure, it’s all too true that Joe has disappeared for the Hawks down the stretch during the playoffs, but realistically, the Hawks are better with the 11th leading scorer (at least that’s what I recall off of the top of my head) than they would be with the 2 or even 3 serviceable (read average, at best) players to replace him on the Hawks roster for the same amount of money.
Face it, Hawks fans, D. Wade nor Lebron are coming to this Hawks team that has so many question marks, the biggest one being who will be the coach next season.
GeeMack
May 10th, 2010
5:37 pm
as much as I love the Hawks they make nearly impossible to watch the game tonight. I refuse to watch them get beat by 50. They can say what they want about better effort tonight I know when someones blowing smoke for PR. They know they won’t compete tonight.
Grandad
May 10th, 2010
5:44 pm
Whiteside, Orton, Alabi, (reaches/projects) all of them.
Think poor man’s Hasheem Thabeet, but not as experienced.
Thabeet = D-league.
We have Al, & Josh + Marv, possibly J.Childress in their prime.
*(Zaza) as well
Teaguer’s either got to produce on the floor or thru trade.[NOW]
[Wdsn wasted J.teague'e 1st yr,] and Jamal in his latter prime.
*(all but Al / could be in play as trade chips) this is reality.
* [5 yr. window with this group]
We cannot waste 3 or 4 yrs. with a project…^…see above.
Bibby’s contract will be moved, freeing some $.
Mo will not re-up…^…same.
Joe Smith, Cheeseburger, Mario, RandMo…will be replaced,
one way or another, [FA-signing] or minimum contract guys.
Draft = someone who can be a rotation player NOW!
If your looking for a Big that can help now:
‘Aleks Maric’ – Euro [FA] Best Big in europe, Aussie,
played 4 yrs,@ Nebraska, (this yr, played for *Partizan),
*team that Olympiakos [Childress' team] defeated in semis.
25 years old, experienced, 6-11, 270,
more ready than any collegean. Even my guy – Zoubek.
terrell
May 10th, 2010
5:46 pm
Flamethrower, Big Baby Davis is no where near the player Joe Johnson is. Are you kidding me? I’m not the biggest JJ fan right now either, but lets be realistic here.
Bucks Fan
May 10th, 2010
5:51 pm
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Sautee
May 10th, 2010
6:02 pm
northcyde,
about this: “It was a bad and stupid comment that he said. But it was obviously said out of frustration.”
I agree, but why didn’t HE say THAT. It really bugged me that he had a wonderful opportunity to apologize, and instead talked around the subject, and said how tough it was, and ended up saying “If they come out and show us support, it would be great,”
In other words, don’t come out to boo us, even if I deserve it. That’s pitiful in my book. No accountability for his gaffe.
tony
May 10th, 2010
6:34 pm
northcyde, I know that you mean well and I appreciate that. However, shouldn’t JJ have written a statement of apology to let everyone know that he was truely sorry for the statement that he made towards the fans instead of saying ‘ I don’t think I ever heard the boos like that in the five years since I’ve been here, ‘ he said. ‘ When I first got here, man, there were probably like 100 people out there in those seats’.
Is that what you call an apology? That last statement is a complete insult to the people of Atlanta and the state of Ga.. It was totally irrelevant for him to say that in the first place. You forgive those who want forgiveness. His action says he doesn’t need forgiveness for his unappreciated attitude. I could careless for that unappreciated fool.
bullodozier
May 10th, 2010
7:13 pm
OK I got the fix for everyone: Cp3 wants out of N.O. we send marvin, bibby,crawford for Cp3 and some dead weight big they want to get rid of…enough said
rusty
May 10th, 2010
7:18 pm
ramon
this is joes iso offense,the way we always plays, he just cant make basketsi thibnk the hawks suck balls
GoldenRetriever
May 11th, 2010
10:59 am
JJ is capable of being one of the best closers in the game. He has proved that over and over again, which is why he wants a MAX CONTRACT. The only problem is that I think that Joe is not giving 150% effort all the time. Sometime, as in the Hawks playoff run this year, Joe is probably giving only 5% effort, which is why he looked so bad and shot so poorly at only 20% from the field. If Joe gives 100% I promise you he will average a minimum of 25 points a game and shoot 50% from the field. Three years ago in the Boston series with the Hawks, JOE SHOWED THE WORLD THAT HE IS ONE OF THE TOP THREE CLOSERS IN THE GAME. Joe didnt show the same thing this year. Go back and watch the tape of the Boston series from 3 years ago and compare it to this years playoff run. Joe looks like LaBron or Kobe in the Boston series of 3 years ago. Joe can still play like that, but since he hasnt yet received his max contract, has decided not to play that way until he inks the new deal.