Hawks quit on season (and Joe doesn’t care what you think)
If one picture can say it all for the plight of Joe Johnson and the Hawks, this is it. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Let’s start with the obvious: The Orlando Magic are better. They have a center. They have a point guard. They have a roster of players with complete sets of working organs, and isn’t that a novelty?
But sometimes things happen in sports that make you declare, “Push the button and blow the whole damn thing up.” This was one of them.
In a home playoff game, in an obvious desperation game, in a game where the Hawks had an opportunity to show us what substance they were made of, they collectively screamed, “Goo.” They didn’t score. They didn’t defend. They didn’t rebound. They didn’t compete.
We saw better performances when bodies were being jettisoned and the roster was all about 10-day contracts and cap space.
Down 2-0 in their second-round playoff series against Orlando, the Hawks tossed on a little seasoning, propelled themselves onto a rotisserie and told the Magic, “Flip the switch.” They trailed by 10 points after one quarter, 19 after two and 24 after three. A small gathering of fans at Philips Arena stuck it out until the end of Saturday’s 105-75 loss, perhaps hoping it would earn them some sort of refund.
Sorry. Payback will have to come in the afterlife. If you need to know what that’s like, just ask the Hawks. They’ve flat-lined. They’re down 3-0. Their backs aren’t against the wall. They’re on the floor.
Wait. It gets worse.
Al Horford, the best hope this franchise has for a leader, openly questioned his teammates’ heart.
“Effort. Effort — that’s all it is,” he said. “Guys can say all they want about coverages and all this. But it came down to effort — [not] going for loose balls early in the game, missing rebounds when they missed shots.”
And then: “It’s frustrating. I’m not the kind of person who’s going to go out there and point people out. I’ll let them know. But you’re not going to see me cursing somebody out. They know what they have to do, and it’s frustrating when the effort is not there.”
Wait. It gets even worse.
Joe “Max Money” Johnson might have permanently torched bridges with both the Hawks and the city of Atlanta. On the court, he shot only 3-for-15 and scored eight points. In the past six games, he has shot 31.2 percent (30-of-96) and averaged 11.5 points. His scoring totals in the last half-dozen: 13, 22, 8, 8, 10, 8.
“These guys look to me for guidance, and when you’re playing like that, it’s almost impossible for us to win,” Johnson said.
He was half-right. Pretty sure his teammates stopped looking to him for guidance long ago.
Before these playoffs, Johnson was determined to prove he belonged among the NBA’s elite players. He certainly has removed all doubt, but not in the way he has hoped. Even Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said, “Yeah, we’re double-teaming him some in the post, but he’s getting shots he would normally make.”
How does Johnson follow this performance? He basically tells Hawks fans that he doesn’t care what they think.
The Hawks were booed often, including as they were leaving the court at halftime and after the game. When asked about this, the “team leader” unloaded this gem: “They don’t bother me. It’s about us in this locker room. We could care less if they showed up or not.”
Good news, Joe. The arena might be half-empty for Game 4 on Monday night.
It’s the Hawks’ worst home loss of the season.
It’s their worst home playoff loss in franchise history.
If nothing else, coach Hawks coach Mike Woodson gets points for best summation: “Tonight was just non-existence.”
He looked defeated afterward. He looked like he knew the end was coming — for both his team and himself.
If Johnson has made a loud statement in this postseason about what he is worth, what kind of statement has Woodson made? He was outcoached by Scott Skiles in the first round and so far by Stan Van Gundy in this round, if for no other reason than Van Gundy is getting maximum effort out of his players.
Do Hawks’ players look like they’re fighting to save their coach’s job?
It doesn’t matter that Orlando is better. It matters that Orlando is the only team that showed up. The other one has checked out.
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC and on Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
♦
Earlier Hawks posts
♦ We’re live from Hawks-Magic: Can they make it a series?
♦ Thumbs up or down: Josh Childress a Hawk again?
♦ Hawks show their best side in desperate times again
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591 comments Add your comment
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:20 pm
I like men
brody
May 8th, 2010
11:20 pm
Vick supporter, you’re an idiot. Race has nothing to do with the city of Atlanta’s failures to win a championship and neither does its fans. Look at the Braves. Who is the new face of that team? Jason Heyward. The man is practically the new king of Atlanta, replacing what number 7 left empty and he’s a rookie. So stop all of this non sense about we don’t support the team and its players. The Braves are trash and they will be as long as Bobby Cox is at the helm. Same with the Hawks. The Falcons are the only team set to actually have intentions on wanting to win a title.
Greg Norton
May 8th, 2010
11:20 pm
Lock Bibby up with a long term contract NOW!!! That guy is freakn clutch!
cdog
May 8th, 2010
11:22 pm
all of this would have been solved if rick sund hadn’t given that money to pachilia, went out and got a quality big man to defend the middle along with josh smith and al hordford.he equipped the hawks to get past the boston celtics by bringing in jamal crawford but he for got about the orlando majic and cleveland cavaliers in the east.no change should be made except find a way to get a qulity big man and bring back josh childress.the hawks will win it all next season if this happens.no team has ever won an nba title without a quality center.go back to the bill russell- wilt chamberlain days, through jabbar, walton,robert parrish,bill liambeer, rick mchon all the way up to now with tim duncan, kelvin garnett,paul gasol just to name a few.what makes sund believe he can win now without a quality center?
cattle dawg
May 8th, 2010
11:22 pm
I bet Shultzie reads his blogs an laughs his tail off at how these blogs go in a complete different direction some days.
Don't ask, Don't tell
May 8th, 2010
11:23 pm
I just hope we can make it to the end of this post without anyone asking if Mike Hunt is a fan of dribble-drive penetration!
Greg
May 8th, 2010
11:23 pm
This article says it all about the Hawks and Joe Johnson….
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=joejohnson-100508
Nilo Silvan
May 8th, 2010
11:24 pm
Which players do you want to keep?
Which players do you want to see leave?
I want Josh Smith and Joe Johnson gone and Woodson gone.
Keep Al. Go from there.
Kong
May 8th, 2010
11:24 pm
Folks, As a Magic fan it saddens me to see Hawks fans so torqued on their team. But at the same time, I understand. WE were there not too long ago (worst team in the league).
We had a couple of lucky (draft pick ping-pong ball) bounces.
Your day will come too.
Keep the faith.
Then you can say, “I was a fan since……..”.
Peace.
Road Dog
May 8th, 2010
11:24 pm
I agree. Joe Johnson has got to go. The sooner the better. Even a real NBA basketball coach couldn’t fix whatever is wrong inside of him! I do believe however a real NBA basketball coach could save Josh Smith. Make him grow up. Demand discipline and hard work. If you take a play off for any reason at any time (which he is doing more and more of in these playoffs) — any play — sit him on the bench. If he refuses to learn, or can’t learn, send him elsewhere. A real NBA coach can fix that talented young man in my opinion. Al Horford. You are are a man’s man! Don’t give up like those around you. Don’t get discouraged. Hopefully, help will be on the way. If anybody on this team deserves “max money” — it is you. Quality guy. Quality play on a nightly basis. And maximun effort 100% of the time. Maybe some help is on the way when they get rid of Joe, his daddy Woody, and get some new young energetic faces in here.
tree rollins
May 8th, 2010
11:25 pm
Let’s go easy on these Hawks. Woodson took them from nothing to something. Now you guys want to dump him. When he began coaching this team nobody wanted anything to do with them. Now that they’re good you want to dump this guy – very nice. The Spirit owners are not going to dump Woody. We’ll be good next year with Teague as the point guard. Just relax and wait til next year.
dandydawg
May 8th, 2010
11:26 pm
Strange how Joe would make that statement after saying all season long that the Hawks feed off the fan support. I think we should still show up Monday night, just because it’s the ATL, not Joe Johnson, who we are cheering for.
Wouldn’t it be nice for everyone to just be quiet when they do the intro of Joe Johnson. Let’s show him he is no longer wanted in our city…since he could care less about us!
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:26 pm
@brody
When did I bring up race? I’ve been talking basketball unless someone makes a racial comment towards me
extremus
May 8th, 2010
11:27 pm
I think it’s sad when any team in any league and in any market has to deal with players and even coaches being courted by bigger-market organizations with deeper pockets. Professional sports has become so money-obsessed that eventually it will be the undoing of many teams and perhaps even entire leagues. The state of competition now isn’t so much on the field or on the court as it is in the meetings and the contract negotiations, and when you think about it, that’s a shame and simply should not be allowed to happen. And as we are currently seeing, the Hawks’ shoddy play on the court can’t be too surprising considering some key figures are already eyeing the door.
As for all of the vitriol being thrown about here regarding Johnson, Vick, and others, I had a thought earlier this week: looking back through previous decades before the term “free agency” had been widely heard, I had to think really hard to find any players who came to mind who got into trouble with drugs, sex, infidelity, or various crimes. They often played their entire careers for a single team, and won the respect of fans in ways that all of this money can never buy today. But today all of those things are rampant; not a week goes by that some sports figure doesn’t end up in a mug shot or a headline for sad or tragic reasons, from Roethlesburger to Woods to Michael Vick. And the same media that pretty much lifts them up as gods when they’re the talk of the town is just as quick to ruthlessly destroy them when they fall.
The prevailing question most of us everyday fans ask is “how can they make such mistakes or have so many problems in spite of all of that money, fame, and material blessings?”. I thought of something former Braves catcher Javier Lopez said during an interview about steroids: he said that the drive to land the next mega-contract pushed many players to juice. It’s really a simple matter of human nature, folks. Athletes today aren’t having all of these problems in spite of their wealth; they’re having most of them BECAUSE of it, and the culture currently surrounding pro sports.
HAWKSDONTCARE!!!!
May 8th, 2010
11:27 pm
This team and it’s leadership could care less about what this city thinks….(well, I won’t say all players, I am sure some might care) Once again we are humilated in our own city by our own players!
Joe Johnson < Joe Dirt
May 8th, 2010
11:28 pm
I hope the fans are somehow able to organize a response when Joe is introduced. Booing would be the simplest way to go. Maybe a chant of You’re not Al would be better.
Fitten
May 8th, 2010
11:28 pm
For the record, we the few and proud Hawks fans NEVER wanted the idiots to trade Nique for vanilla Danny Manning
Good God
May 8th, 2010
11:29 pm
For the love of God, the saying is couldn’t care less!
tree rollins
May 8th, 2010
11:30 pm
Woodson is here for the long term – Spirit owners love Woody for his ongoing loyalty during the bad years. Those of you that don’t like him can move on! You’re not going to be heard so
quit wasting your time on this blog about firing Woody.
tree rollins
May 8th, 2010
11:31 pm
On the other hand, Joe Johnson may be moving on. Anybody have any suggestions for his replacement?
Notch Johnson
May 8th, 2010
11:34 pm
This was the fourth Hawks game I attended this season. At the first part of the season I thought the Hawks would be a contender. However, the Hawks have regressed instead of progressed. Most people on this board have made some valid points, but lets face it people, name calling and putting people down only show frustration on your part. I agree that Joe Johnson needs to go. He has played terribly and his comment today shows that he has no class. Woody needs to go, because the players don’t seem to respond to him. I drive over 100 miles each way to attend an Atlanta sporting event. The Braves, Falcons, Thrashers and Hawks are my favorite teams and I attend several games watching each team play every year. However, many Atlanta fans are inattentive and have little knowledge of the game. That being said, there is improvement to be made by all sides.
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:34 pm
Fitten
May 8th, 2010
11:28 pm
For the record, we the few and proud Hawks fans NEVER wanted the idiots to trade Nique for vanilla Danny Manning
—————————
You sure about that?
Dayman
May 8th, 2010
11:35 pm
This team, coach included, are not winners. They quit. At what point do you play for personal pride? This roster needs to be blownup and money spent elsewhere.
bobo
May 8th, 2010
11:35 pm
Who cares about attendance? Vick,you obviosly don’t pay the dime as such a great fan. But, attacking Vick has no merit either. Bottom line: Underachieved,undermanaged and uninspired. They lost on their court-BIG. Anyone who has played hoops knows that’s embarrassing. PERIOD.
tree rollins
May 8th, 2010
11:35 pm
Van Gundy is where he should be – Woodson is where he should be. Is he the greatest coach – no? Does he deserve to keep coaching the team he handled back when nobody wanted them – yes, of course. Woodson less Joe Johnson is probably what we have next year. Childress fills in where Johnson drops off!
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:37 pm
Notch Johnson
I agree with you on alot of points, but to say that JJ has no class is reaching a bit. This guy has never been in any trouble, yet he says the unspoken word that the fans here suck, which is the truth, and now he’s classless?
Joe Johnson
May 8th, 2010
11:37 pm
to all you critics out there. what is your salary?
SecondSage
May 8th, 2010
11:37 pm
@ Vick Supporter,
You can use whatever name you want, and Supporting Vick has nothing to do with the Hawks. All these personal attacks need to cease.
Now I want to address your original point. I made a fool of myself on CBSsports blog defending the Hawks until what I saw today. Go look at the NBA Boards on CBSsports and see for your self.
What Joe meant to say is he has to play regardless of who was in the stands. But that he didn’t. They did mail it in. Yes they went to the second round two years in a row but didn’t compete in either series. They had no business letting the Bucks hang around without 2 of their best players. No Excuse for that,
Joe’s mind was on NY and already considers himself not a Hawk. The rest of the team knew that and that contributes to the chemistry issues. Josh Smith may thrive out of Atlanta ala Jeff Francuoer (sp).
Atlanta has a history of being fair weathered but we didn’t have sports teams when traditions were being established. We are now turning the corner. We don’t mind the Hawks losing to a better team but lose with effort.
tree rollins
May 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
Woodson + Childress – Johnson is next year’s team. It will be good and we’ll get further into the playoffs. Wait and see.
doc
May 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
jeff, it seems your anti-viral software is failing you tonight.
gcs
May 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
BURN those bridges, Joe!
.
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
bobo
i have attending 27 games this year and would have bought season tickets if my job didn’t require me to travel so much. I believe I’ve paid much more than a dime
Giuseppe
May 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
Let’s remember how Mike Smith made the Falcons a team that fights. The Hawks need to get rid of all big mouths such as Joe Johnson and also the half-effort man Zaza Pachulia. They need to build the roster around players that give their all every game and get a motivational coach like Mike Smith that the players want to die on the court for. Then all of us fans will go to the games regardless of the outcome – if they battle with heart and give a full effort, we will be there.
Benny
May 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
Many times an NBA coach simply loses any effectiveness, and has been in a city so long that none of the players listen anymore. Mike Fratello in Atlanta, Larry Brown in Indy and Philly, and so on. Time to move on, Woody. He has been tuned out. Jeff Teague was drafted for a reason. Where was the development of him? Bibby cannot guard anyone at this point. Josh is not playoff material. Horford is. JJ, see ya. Marvin, another drag of a contract.
brody
May 8th, 2010
11:39 pm
vick supporter you’re correct,,, but that group of players that you listed were all black and that we wanted them gone. Implying we don’t appreciate a good black athlete in Atlanta
Joe Johnson
May 8th, 2010
11:39 pm
I’m outta this tin plated city anyway, so dont matter to me.
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:39 pm
I have attended….got to make the correction before Mike “Teach” Hunt opens his stinking mouth
al for president
May 8th, 2010
11:40 pm
tellitlikeitis..
the murder of another human being is not something to poke fun at. that is pitiful and wrong.
brody
May 8th, 2010
11:40 pm
Don’t forget everybody and their mother wanted Keith Brooking out at one point as well.
bobo
May 8th, 2010
11:41 pm
Woodson probably returns and maybe earned it (it was a good regular season). But, he has earned some of his scorn with his attitude. That said, they really do suck right now.
tree rollins
May 8th, 2010
11:42 pm
Let’s get real Atlanta fans. Atlanta misses Mike Vick and Dominque Wilkins. We all know that. But we won’t miss Joe Johnson. And I’m glad Woodson is coming back. He has the right approach and just needs some players willing to play with pride – he’ll have that next year and this will all be different – wait and see.
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:42 pm
@brody
Those athletes played in this city. they happened to be black. So f’ing what. I hate baseball, so there’s no need to mention Glavine and Smoltz, etc. You still cannot show me where I’ve brought race
Joe Johnson
May 8th, 2010
11:43 pm
this has all been Mike Woodson’s fault.
Joe Johnson
May 8th, 2010
11:44 pm
Mike Hunt, why dont you jump back in the sea?
Dayman
May 8th, 2010
11:44 pm
To anyone wanting to make the point that Atlanta fans are racist or whatever your trying to get at, your case is void by two words. Jason Heyward.
bobo
May 8th, 2010
11:45 pm
Please do not include Vick and Wilkins in the same sentence.
tree rollins
May 8th, 2010
11:45 pm
Atlanta fans aren’t racist. They love a good winning team – if it’s black all the better. But winning is #1.
NightHawk
May 8th, 2010
11:46 pm
Well, I guess Joe Johnson just gave fans here in Atlanta a reason to tune in and/or come to the game on Monday – to boo him mercilessly and to bid him a fond farewell.
Joe’s business acumen is about as strong as his game in the playoffs. I mean, even if you wanted to leave Atlanta, why piss off the fan base (even more) and destroy any leverage you have with the Hawks? If they attempt to resign him now that he’s pissed in the face of the fans – they’re idiots!!
Ken
May 8th, 2010
11:46 pm
I actually feel bad for Woody. It’s not like he’s not trying. The players aren’t. An NBA coach shouldnt have to motivate his players. Woody shouldnt either. Then again, I HATE his defensive gameplans, his lack of adjustments, and the offense will take care of itself offense. JJ has to go, and unfortunately so does Josh Smith. I know JS has had “good” games in this series, but he isn’t trying. JS has the talent to takeover a game from a defense and scoring standpoint, but he doesn’t try.
Let JJ go. Try to sign DWade (if the Hawks were willing to sign JJ for a max contract, DWade shouldnt be a problem). Trade JS to “I dont care where” just get a sharp shooting small forward. Try to find a defensive center. I know easier said than done.
Vick Supporter
May 8th, 2010
11:47 pm
Mike Hunt
May 8th, 2010
11:41 pm
Joe Johnson didn’t show up in the biggest games of the year. He has no right to call out the fans in the ATL. Atlanta fans have watched their professional (sic) teams fail year after year after year after year after year after year after year – there’s a pattern here. Johnson gets paid millions of dollars to play basket fking ball. He doesn’t make an effort in the playoffs, then gets his panties in a wad when the fans boo? Screw him and anyone that supports him
—————————-
So because JJ gets paid millions means that he can’t a bad game(s). He’s human, woman. that’s we as fans tend to forget. We all know he’s not a max player…and there’s nothing wrong with him thinking that he is. I guess JJ should come out and say ” Hey!! I’m a second tier player”….people would talk shi*t about him for saying that. get real, woman