7:03 pm December 17, 2010, by Ken Sugiura
Hawks guard Joe Johnson will return to the lineup two weeks ahead of schedule after having right elbow surgery. Th efour-time All-Star will start Friday night against Charlotte at Philips Arena.
“The therapy just went great, the swelling’s gone down,” Johnson said. “We’ve just been shooting (with) no pain. It’s just feeling great, so I just didn’t feel like it was necessary to wait another two weeks and leave the guys hanging out there like that when I can really get out there and give ‘em everything I got.”
Johnson had surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow at the beginning of December. He had been expected to be out four to six weeks. His return was so unexpected that coach Larry Drew thought trainer Wally Blase was kidding when he told Drew that Johnson could go Friday.
The Hawks went 5-4 in his absence but have lost three of the last four.
The return comes at a fortuitous time. Guard Jamal Crawford will miss his second consecutive game with a back injury.
Coverage of Atlanta’s NBA franchise from AJC Hawks beat writer Chris Vivlamore
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217 comments Add your comment
terrell
December 17th, 2010
8:52 pm
Marvins not even looking to attack. Just looking for somebody to pass it to. Come on man!
Najeh Davenpoop
December 17th, 2010
8:53 pm
The Hawks keyboard players are making “CREAM” by Wu-Tang sound like some new age sh-t. Damn DASG being too cheap to pay the licensing fees to play actual songs…
bigdave
December 17th, 2010
8:53 pm
Cream get da money.. $ $ bills yall..
SWAT Native
December 17th, 2010
8:54 pm
Why couldnt Joe play last night?
bigdave
December 17th, 2010
8:54 pm
they keyboardist aight though..
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
8:55 pm
lol josh is horrible
Najeh Davenpoop
December 17th, 2010
8:55 pm
Smoove is not playing well to start this half.
ATL FAN
December 17th, 2010
8:56 pm
Josh expects to get fouled on every one of his drives and he never actually tries to make the layup
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
8:58 pm
some reason josh cant make easy push shots at the rim unless hes dunking
stizz
December 17th, 2010
8:59 pm
Cosign atl fan. Glad Joe hasn’t pulled a Haynesworth on us.
Smiling Jack
December 17th, 2010
9:00 pm
Nice play by Hawks tonight, but the competition isn’t the Celtics! Hopfully the Hawks won’t let up effort and play to a victory. And it’s good to see Joe Johnson coming back early from his surgery.
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
9:01 pm
when was the last time josh made a jump shot?
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:02 pm
man im so shocked marvin didnt fall on his a_ _ after that board.
nice job
Najeh Davenpoop
December 17th, 2010
9:05 pm
Yeah, Marvin has actually had a decent game tonight. That makes two games in a row, which is a lot for him.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:05 pm
Josh Smith has the ugliest cross over in the history of bball
Sautee
December 17th, 2010
9:07 pm
Let’s see Horford, Powell, Marvin, Damien, and Jeff
YoDaddy
December 17th, 2010
9:08 pm
Joe Johnson is a gladiator
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:09 pm
powell tried to hit that fadeaway on yall
YoDaddy
December 17th, 2010
9:10 pm
letting Kwame Brown score…I don’t understand it
Najeh Davenpoop
December 17th, 2010
9:10 pm
Wow, Mo just threw the worst pass of the year.
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
9:10 pm
smh mo evans
Sautee
December 17th, 2010
9:11 pm
OK, get Powell and MO out, please.
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
9:11 pm
no motion offense
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:11 pm
I dunno what was worse that pass by mo or his air bair from 2-3 ft
bigdave
December 17th, 2010
9:11 pm
what does Mo Evans bring.. more of Damien /Jordan Crawford
ATL FAN
December 17th, 2010
9:14 pm
Great job Teague
YoDaddy
December 17th, 2010
9:15 pm
Mo Evans is terrible
Blast
December 17th, 2010
9:18 pm
Second that. Joe is a real pro. Played through an injury not even the coach knew about, had surgery, and back on the court in 15 days! Awesome!
Joe sounds like me.
Yeah, he’s rusty, but he is still drawing the double.
Sautee
December 17th, 2010
9:18 pm
If LD ran a play out of the timeout to MO, then begin to lose faith
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:18 pm
Mo said he’s just gettin his “brick city” on even before we head to brick city to play the nets.
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
9:19 pm
in avery johnson voice to mo evans “you gotta play smart basketball”
Bailey
December 17th, 2010
9:19 pm
Mo Evans may want to consider a future career in the construction business after he retires because he sure does a great job of laying bricks.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:20 pm
IsoTeague lmfao
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
9:21 pm
choke time
Sautee
December 17th, 2010
9:22 pm
Al should have left his man to contest Diaw. And Josh got beat and didn’t really try to catch up.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:25 pm
lol@that actin job
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
9:25 pm
josh wishes he could drive like diaw
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:25 pm
so Boris Diaw can get to the rack at will???????????
Najeh Davenpoop
December 17th, 2010
9:25 pm
What is it about the Hawks that always brings out the best in Boris D-cups?
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:26 pm
poor d
Najeh Davenpoop
December 17th, 2010
9:26 pm
Damn, Joe wasted a great setup from Bibby. This game has gotten uncomfortably close.
bigdave
December 17th, 2010
9:26 pm
Joe’s release looks different..
Blast
December 17th, 2010
9:27 pm
Why y’all ragging on Mo, man? Y’all forgotten the good games he had? He is slumping right now, but I’m holding on to faith. Just as I have been doing with Marvin.
Mo might still be hurting.
AL is holding the ball too long. He needs to shoot when he is open. I trust his jumpshot even better than Joe’s.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:27 pm
I cant believe the BarbaraCats are within 4….this is a joke
cp
December 17th, 2010
9:27 pm
What is Mo doing on the court to warrant the pt he gets. smh come on LD stop playing this guy and put him in a suit
bigdave
December 17th, 2010
9:27 pm
Kwame got hands like dude from the burger king commercials..
Najeh Davenpoop
December 17th, 2010
9:27 pm
Way too many damn second chances.
bigdave
December 17th, 2010
9:28 pm
foul.
{MAC-Town Georgia 478}
December 17th, 2010
9:28 pm
good to see some emotion out of LD
J.J.M.
December 17th, 2010
9:28 pm
Blast we live in the present