A little respect for Joe

[macdaddy]

Quote:

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Joe's no longer ordinary

By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports

March 1, 2006

Steve Kerr

Yahoo! Sports Exclusive

After his controversial decision to leave the Phoenix Suns last summer and sign with the Atlanta Hawks, Joe Johnson was thrust into the limelight.

The quiet, talented guard hasn't been able to reverse the Hawks' fortunes, but he is doing his best to get the longtime NBA doormats headed in the right direction.

Johnson has come on strong of late and is gradually becoming one of the best guards in the league. His averages of 19.5 points and 6.4 assists aren't mind-boggling, but they are impressive when you consider the fact he plays on one of the league's youngest teams. Once the talent around him develops and begins to help Johnson, the Hawks could be a playoff contender.

Where Johnson's growth has really become apparent is in his confidence. A few years ago, he was a green youngster with a tendency to get down after missing a few shots. Now he is so confident he demands the ball with the game on the line.

Johnson already has several game-tying or winning shots this season, and he appears more and more in control of both himself and his team.

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Link

Also, interesting in the article about how Artest has made the Kings a good defensive team. One guy can make a difference for team defense.

[thesheedera]

So much has been said about his acquisition that if we continue to improve, he should get a bulk of the credit. I believe he deserves a lion's share of it.

Not to take anything away from the other guys, but Joe's the cog that makes it all happen.

[swolehawk2]

Yep...last night he had some turnovers...but it looked like he would dribble around looking for somebody to dive to the rim and sometimes they would stand and watch Joe, almost to say GO JOE DO YOUR THANG....have to keep moving on O... Joe will find you.

[Final_quest]

Articles like this give us hope. Perhaps the national opinion of our franchise will be overturned in a season or two. One more productive offseason, another season of maturing, and we can be a factor in the East.

[Nicholasp27]

all it takes is for us to have a good start next year and teams will forget that we were ever the 'new clippers'

especially if we end the season strong winning 10ish of our last 25 to end with 30ish wins

if we can then play .400-.450ish ball in november/december of next year, we'll stop being considered a bottom feeder and be considered a candidate for the 8th seed

if we come out slow again, though, then it won't matter if we win 35-40 next year; people base their opinions on the first 2 months of the year

[uga2006]

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One guy can make a difference for team defense.

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Yea if his name is Artest or Wallace.

[macdaddy]

Sure Artest is exceptional, but Diop has really helped Dallas. I think having a solid defensive center would be huge for us considering that Smoove is already good.

[thesheedera]

Nicholasp27 - good point. If we finish strong and begin next season at least with some average play, we will earn some respect back.

It will depend a lot on our offseason, and how much different the team that ends this season is from the team that begins the next one. I hope we add pieces without losing the continuity of our core players building chemistry.

[macdaddy]

Is 27 considered 30ish wins? I was guaranteed exactly 27 wins by someone.

[Nicholasp27]

yeah, i know

i guaranteed exactly 27 and stuck with it even after 2-18 start

however, it looks like they may exceed my expectations and i'm ok with being wrong if it means we win 30+

it'd suck if i was wrong just for us to get 28 wins, though