Joe Johnson should skip All-Star game for Hawks’ sake
If Joe Johnson bows out of All-Star game, it could open door for Josh Smith. (AP photo)
(Updated at 2:05 p.m. with news that Joe Johnson will miss the next two games.)
Six-time All-Star Joe Johnson hasn’t often been given a warm embrace by the sports fans of Atlanta. That’s because no matter how many times he is referenced by team officials as “the six-time All-Star Joe Johnson,” significant matters keep getting in the way. Like his contract, his aloofness, his seeming lack of leadership and his team’s general shortcomings.
Well, here’s one way “six-time All-Star Joe Johnson” can score some points with the general populace: don’t play in his sixth All-Star game.
The Hawks are on a slide. They lost more games in the past 10 (3-7) than they did in the first 22 (16-6). This isn’t completely unexpected. They’re banged up. They’re worn down. They’re starting to play some better teams. They’re missing their starting center (Al Horford) and his backup (Jason Collins), and this was an undersized team to begin with. It figured at some point that a 16-6 team would have a market correction.
Johnson has tendinitis in his left knee. He came out of Monday’s game in Chicago and never went back in.
Some folks enthusiastically are taking verbal 2-by-4’s to Johnson for not playing through the injury. I’m not going down that road. It’s much safer to question an athlete’s ability, character and leadership than it is to wonder whether he is really injured.
But this we know for certain: Johnson says he wasn’t healthy enough to finish the game in Chicago. He returned to Atlanta for an MRI and will not play in the next two games before the All-Star break (Wednesday in New York; Thursday at home against Orlando). That will be followed by the five-day break before the season resumes Feb. 29 against Golden State.
The Hawks come out of the break playing three games in four days at home, then go on a six-game, nine-day road trip straight out of Travelocity Hell. It carries them from Indiana down to Miami, back up to Detroit, way over to Sacramento, back to Denver, back down to Los Angeles, then home. (Thank you, David Stern. You can put down the pipe now.) This is a team that has fallen to sixth overall in the Eastern Conference and suddenly is scrambling just to make the playoffs. The second half: kind of important.
I realize the NBA is the only league where the All-Star game is still somewhat of an event. It’s Entertainment Tonight in high-tops. Stern looks at the weekend like a wedding planner looks at a perfect three-tiered cake and prime rib buffet. He kvells. The weekend is an ego rush for the players. Shoe companies want their millionaire pitchmen on site for marketing purposes.
Johnson needs to be thinking about his team here. And yes, as much as the man is criticized, as great as Josh Smith has been, as important as Horford is when he’s healthy, it’s still Johnson’s team. The Hawks will go only as far as he takes them. He needs to play, he needs to score, even if his personality doesn’t scream, “Jump on my back, guys.” He doesn’t need the NBA’s three carnival events in Orlando — the All-Star game, the three-point contest and the “Shooting Stars” competition.
Resting the knee for the second half accomplishes three things: 1) It gives the Hawks the best chance for success, even if the absence of Horford suggests there’s probably a ceiling; 2) It sends the right message to the team and fans; 3) It opens the door for him to be replaced on the Eastern Conference roster by the guy who should really be there: Smith. (All-Star replacements are decided by the commissioner. But Smith’s exclusion from the game sparked criticism, even from the TNT crew, and logic suggests Smith would have a good chance to make it.)
Not going to Orlando might be a shot to Johnson’s ego, but he needs to decide what’s more important. The answer should be obvious.
By Jeff Schultz
Earlier: Marvin Williams wants out of Atlanta? (OK, what’s the joke?)
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73 comments Add your comment
fj
February 21st, 2012
6:06 pm
cpsman_atlanta
February 21st, 2012
1:17 pm
so far, the most stupid post of the week
Arnold Ziffel
February 21st, 2012
6:20 pm
The crowing blow of stupidity from the Spirit group. No organization in their right mind would have signed this guy to that contract- particularly following a middle finger to the fans during the playoffs. As much as I dislike Joe, I can’t blame him for taking advantage of the Spirit’s laughable stupidity.
cdog
February 21st, 2012
6:24 pm
HAWKS READY TO WAVE THE WHITE FLAG. WHY NOT?
Proud-Dawg
February 21st, 2012
6:28 pm
ASG are the worst owners in sports, hands down!
Section 303
February 21st, 2012
6:34 pm
I hate saying this….I agree with Jeff Schultz. Joe should sit out the All Star Game. Josh can take his spot and Joe can participate in the Shooting Challenge with Smitty and the Dream player. Win-win.
Belcher
February 21st, 2012
6:38 pm
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Lee
February 21st, 2012
7:48 pm
Can’t blame Joe Johnson for signing the 120M contract I would have signed it too and I bet anybody else would have too you would be lying if you would have turned it down. The problem is the ownership they don’t know how to run a NBA team so until that gets fixed I’m not a Hawks fan, Go Knicks!
Ted Striker
February 21st, 2012
8:25 pm
Good column. I agree.
Joseph
February 21st, 2012
8:36 pm
ALL STARS DON’T DO BUSH LEAGUE:
Josh Smith didn’t make the all star team for the same reason you don’t take a drunk person to church. They make everyone else look worse. His jump shot, you know the one that he never makes, is the exact opposite of all star behavior. It is like if Chipper Jones threw the ball in the stands once an inning. No matter how good his bat, we all are worse off. Same with Smith. All stars don’t do Bush League. Do you think he will throw up that same brick from the same spot at the ASG? Yes.
As to Joe, he might care. I don’t really know. Why would Joe go? He doesn’t seem to like the spotlight. He doesn’t want to say anything? Probably will stay in his hotel.
Should he go? YES. LEARN HOW STARS ACT, TALK AND DOMINATE. THOSE ARE ALPHA DOGS JOE. WHAT ARE YOU????????
Devil's Advocate
February 21st, 2012
8:43 pm
DawgNole,
You are ignorant for not understanding context. We’re not talking about the entire history of Atlanta. My assessment starts with the ASG buying the team.
Dr. Dave
February 21st, 2012
9:00 pm
Joe Johnson has absolutely no charisma. Leading by example only goes so far. If you look at all players in his orice range they are not only great players but also vocal leaders of their teams. He is not. Unfortunately we could not get rid of him beause no one would assume his salary.
blonju
February 21st, 2012
10:58 pm
GREAT article schultzy!! how joe can announce he’s out for the next 2 games (before whatever the MRI doesn’t reveal) and not pull himself from all-star weekend simultaneously, is beyond anything i can comprehend.. SMOOVE needs to be dunking on blake griffin in ORL!! Someone who knows JJ needs to tell him to bow out – PLEASE!!
Joe
February 21st, 2012
11:03 pm
So glad they passed the alcohol sales on Sunday in the ATl. Makes watching all these mediocre teams more bearable. Barely!
IceColdATLien
February 22nd, 2012
12:08 am
I really don’t understand how anyone could dog Joe for staying out of the Bulls game. I’m fairly certain that, since it’s “just” tendonitis, he would’ve come back if it was a playoff game or one of the final reg. season games needed to get into the playoffs. Nothing in his history suggests otherwise (he did come back last year when not 100% with his elbow messed up, and his shooting % showed that), so give him the benefit of the doubt.
That said, if he does something as knuckleheaded as skip the two games prior to AS break and then participates in a friggin’ 3-pt contest or actually play in the AS game… then you’d seriously need to question his priorities. Let’s not even get into our reaction if he aggravates the knee and is forced to miss a significant number of games post-break. Let him go there and do his pitchman thing (as if he’s such a great pitchman in the first place), sit on the bench during the AS game, and hopefully clear up a roster spot for Smoove (which would correct a serious wrong).
I just wonder if Drew or Sund could force him to sit regardless of what he wants to do. Surely they included something in that absurd contract that gives them authority to protect their insanely overpriced asset… but this is ASG we’re talking about, right?
Derrick
February 22nd, 2012
3:50 am
With a 120M contract, if Joe really wanted to win a championship badly enough, he would look to re-structure that contract, say by half, which would still be a whopping 60m, which would therefore give leverage to work out a deal to get a legit big man in the middle. The greedy players of today just feed off of their money, their cars, their mansions, their materialistic mind-set, which are all temporal in the long run. If I truly have been in the league for as long as Joe has, having made all of the money that I have made up until NOW, and I was given a 120 million dollar contract, and if I really wanted to win badly enough, I’d take less money to win. Period. It’s not like he’ll be hurting any time soon. These players are absolutely insane the way that some of them act.
Remember, folks: It was that EXTRA 3% that they wanted! Surprised they even worked out a deal this season.
The Hawks are hurting without Horford, no matter how badly people say that he isn’t that big of a deal. Actually, yes, Horford is THAT big of a deal, and it’s showing right now.
I still predict the Hawks to make it to the Playoffs, but they may not escape the 1st Round this year.
Their next game is in New York where Linsanity is reigning supreme. Why oh why am I hoping that Lin adds to his legacy and sinks a game-winning three at the buzzer to down the Hawks? … Call me crazy, as a Hawks fan, I am! “Well, you’re not a Hawks fan if you say that!” … Me: “Who said?”
just sayin
February 22nd, 2012
5:53 am
why should he sit out of an all star game, it’s not like the hawks are gonna do anything anyway
G
February 22nd, 2012
10:36 am
Tier 1 money don’t make a tier 2 player better….only richer. However, if I had a Joe Johnson type player as my qb for the Falcons, we wouldn’t be 0-3 in the playoffs!
G
February 22nd, 2012
10:39 am
Also, don’t blame Joe for who he is because we all knew who he was before Rick Sund gave him the money. Sound is the bust, not Joe.
G
February 22nd, 2012
10:41 am
Sund is the bust!
Fishman
February 22nd, 2012
10:47 am
Does anyone really care of JJ goes to the all-star game? Is this what the sports writers in this town fill their pages with? Please…. This team is pathetic and has been for years. I see no reason for any optimisim. Even my 11 year old has given up on the Hawks. The ownership of this team is losing a generation of fans and if nothing is done soon, my prediction is the Hawks will go the way of the Thrashers. What a shame given this City used to be rockin for the Hawks in the days of Dominique and Doc.
Truff Hurts
February 22nd, 2012
11:30 am
I thought you actually had to have the numbers (not the name) to be an All-Star ? A kid could compare Joe Johnson’s & Josh Smith’s numbers thus far and easily see that Josh Smith is the better player. NBA needs to stop selecting players based on a name and look up their stats.
With Johnson out, Stern needs to make Josh Smith an All-Star | Jeff Schultz
February 22nd, 2012
12:41 pm
[...] scratched from the lineup for the Hawks’ next two games because of knee tendinitis, has pulled out of All-Star weekend in Orlando. That was the right decision for his health. It was [...]
Malcolm Wingo
February 25th, 2012
5:03 am
It’s laborious to find educated individuals on this matter, however you sound like you realize what you’re speaking about! Thanks