Joe Johnson had arguably his best season last year

[HawkItus]

Hollinger Player Profile | Stats Key

SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER

2002-03 .397 .774 14.2 4.7 3.7 47.2 18.0 9.2 18.1 6.6 12.10

2003-04 .430 .750 16.4 4.6 4.3 49.1 18.5 10.2 20.0 6.6 13.88

2004-05 .461 .750 17.3 5.2 3.6 55.6 17.1 8.7 17.6 7.0 15.19

2005-06 .453 .791 19.8 4.0 6.4 53.7 22.9 11.4 23.8 6.0 17.95

2006-07 .471 .748 24.2 4.1 4.2 55.8 14.6 10.3 26.6 6.1 19.56

2007-08 .432 .834 21.3 4.4 5.7 53.5 20.1 9.4 24.8 6.4 17.67

2008-09 .437 .826 21.6 4.4 5.8 53.4 20.4 8.7 25.2 6.5 18.26

2009-10 .458 .818 22.4 4.9 5.1 53.8 18.3 7.2 25.3 7.1 19.33

2009-10 .435 .808 21.0 4.5 5.5 53.9 19.8 9.0 24.4 6.6 17.48

(projected)

I think the guy has been unfairly criticized.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

JJ straight up balled last year. But you can't play like that in the playoffs, and expect to get props. NBA legends are made in the postseason, not in the regular season. As great as he played in those first 4 playoff games vs Milwaukee, he was horrible in the next 7 playoff games. He has to start being consistently very good in both the regular season and in the playoffs, for him to get the respect he deserves.

[pimp]

I think the guy has been unfairly criticized.

You should post his playoff stats from the last three years, and see if your still impressed with how he has played.

Edited August 5, 2010 by pimp

[HawkItus]

You should post his playoff stats from the last three years, and see if your still impressed with how he has played.

Let's not just take JJ though. Let's take the top 6 players on the Hawks and look at their playoff performances compared to the regular season.

[WraithSentinel]

While we can bash him to hell and back about his playoff performances. Without JJ we likely don't even make the playoffs the last 3 years.

[niremetal]

You should post his playoff stats from the last three years, and see if your still impressed with how he has played.

Like Hubie said, the Hawks ran a simplistic offensive scheme in the playoffs. There was no off-ball movement, and JJ had to go one-on-five. In the regular season, when teams only see the Hawks a couple times and don't have much time for advance scouting and working on particular defensive schemes between games, we usually can get away with the ISO system. But in the playoffs? No way.

It's not as if JJ was missing wide open shots in the playoffs. But the "offense" the Hawks ran basically was to have him and Jamal try to go ISO (sans off-ball movement) on many-to-most of the possessions. The result was that Joe and Jamal ended up taking a lot of tough shots, and the lack of off-ball movement in Woody's "system" meant that they usually didn't have a safety valve when the play broke down. The result, predictably, was terrible efficiency for both of our top 2 scorers.

It's not a coincidence that his best playoff performance came in Phoenix, and that he's gotten worse every year in the playoffs with the Hawks. In Phoenix, he got touches in the rhythm of the offense and played with incredible efficiency for a guard. In his first year here, Boston often tried to guard JJ 1-on-1, which meant that the ISOs worked, and JJ didn't play too shabbily despite the fact that the Celts had the league's best defense. He's gotten worse each of the past two years as teams quickly figured out in each playoff series how it is to collapse on JJ and cut off passing lanes in the Hawks' movement-free system.

I'll eat my words if JJ 1) sucks again in the playoffs; or 2) keeps going ISO on 40% of the Hawks' possessions despite the coaching change and the (we hope) implementation of a new offense. But I'm pretty confident that it was the system which bred his playoff inefficiency.

Edited August 5, 2010 by niremetal

[pimp]

Let's not just take JJ though. Let's take the top 6 players on the Hawks and look at their playoff performances compared to the regular season.

The other five or six guys get criticized.too , just like they should.

Joe is supposed to be an all-star. All-stars are supposed to raise

their level of play in the playoffs.

Has any other all-star played as bad as JJ in the playoffs the last 3 years?

[benhillboy]

If Jordan proves to be a capable scorer, I want Joe to focus totally and completely on the defensive side where he is ridiculously underrated. 80% from the line and .435 from the field is poor enough for someone of his size and skill set, yet I expect him to be worse. I won't be at odds with North as much as last season becasue I'm simply tired of killing Joe, but I will poke my head in from time to time and drop some jewels like how Jamal outscored him in the playoffs or how he made more free throws than Joe attempted during the reg. season or how many small guards take more shots at the hole and convert at a higher rate. Little things of that nature.

[99PROBL3MS]

If Jordan proves to be a capable scorer, I want Joe to focus totally and completely on the defensive side where he is ridiculously underrated. 80% from the line and .435 from the field is poor enough for someone of his size and skill set, yet I expect him to be worse. I won't be at odds with North as much as last season becasue I'm simply tired of killing Joe, but I will poke my head in from time to time and drop some jewels like how Jamal outscored him in the playoffs or how he made more free throws than Joe attempted during the reg. season or how many small guards take more shots at the hole and convert at a higher rate. Little things of that nature.

Jamal Crawford has long been one of the league's best scorers. The fact that teams played him straight up (1-on-1) has a bit ti do with why he had an easier time scoring some nights. Not to mention Jamal giving a few of those points back on the defensive end. We all love Jamal but your disdain for JJ is well documented.

[Plainview1981]

I think the guy has been unfairly criticized.

Nobody said he had a poor year last year. It was a solid year, but the playoff play was mediocre once again.

[JackB1]

JJ had a bad shooting percentage last year. He just took more shots to keep his avg up.

He doesn't get to the free throw line nearly enough and he shows zero leadership or emotion

on the court. He should have done more with Craw now in our lineup and he should also be

getting more assists since he is doubled a lot.

With JJ's new contract, he won't have to play as hard this year. He can take the money and

tell the fans to go screw all he wants now. He is laughing all the way to the bank.

JJ = most overpaid player in proffesional sports

[HAWKSFAN89]

He has to start being consistently very good in both the regular season and in the playoffs, for him to get the respect he deserves.

No worries for Joe, he's already gotten the "respect" he deserves with $120+ million....

[Diesel]

JJ straight up balled last year. But you can't play like that in the playoffs, and expect to get props. NBA legends are made in the postseason, not in the regular season. As great as he played in those first 4 playoff games vs Milwaukee, he was horrible in the next 7 playoff games. He has to start being consistently very good in both the regular season and in the playoffs, for him to get the respect he deserves.

Naw. I think JJ balled in the playoffs too. The point is that he can't always be the one man team. He was run into the ground. Even the best players will get tired and shut down in the playoffs. Look at Kobe game 6&7 in the finals? Look at Bron vs. The Celtics. There are no one man teams and you can't put unreasonable demands on a guy. In fact, the only guys who stepped up in every playoff game that they played.. is

Michael Jordan.

Only one. I have seen Zeke take a back seat and let Joe Dumars run the show. I have seen Bird fall back and watch McHale and Co. bring it in. Even my boy Dr. J. had some PO memories that wasn't great. Only Jordan stepped up in every playoff game. That's why he's the best ever. Do you expect Joe to be Jordan?