It's time to sit Joe Johnson

[gsuteke]

JJ's hand injury must be having an effect on his play. He injured it during the preseason and he's been playing through it. I'm sure JJ's been telling Drew he can play through it but I think it's time for Drew to step in and shut JJ down for a week to 10 in order to give his hand some time to heal.

These 4-14 shooting nights are naking it painfully obvious that continuing to run Joe out there with a bad hand is a bad idea in the longterm when you can give him some rest and rely on Crawford a little more in his absence.

[Gray Mule]

Which Crawford?

Last night, Crawford Two outdid Crawford One.

JJ says, "No, it doesn't bother me." then goes out on the floor and proves that it does bother him.

Maucho! A real man! I can play thru this! I'm not hurting the team. I'm proving how tough I am.

Yep. You're right. JJ needs to sit and let his body heal. Hawks need him @ 100%.

Crawford One has been cold for two games. We don't need him cold. If this contimues,

someone else needs him.

[Marvin24Williams]

Start Joe and limit his minutes.

Give JC2 atleast 15-20 mins a night.

[gsuteke]

Limiting his minutes doesn't fix the problem because he's getting his hand hit during the game.

[Marvin24Williams]

Limiting his minutes doesn't fix the problem because he's getting his hand hit during the game.

Completely sitting Joe Johnson is a stupid idea. Limiting his minutes should be the solution as he can still contribute something to his team.

[gsuteke]

Completely sitting Joe Johnson is a stupid idea. Limiting his minutes should be the solution as he can still contribute something to his team.

Continuing to play joe when he's injured and it's having such a negative impact on his game is stupider considering a season is 82 games.

[TheTruth]

They SHOULD sit him, but they won't. Joe IS hurting the team right now, but we won't do anything to change it.

[niremetal]

Continuing to play joe when he's injured and it's having such a negative impact on his game is stupider considering a season is 82 games.

I agree 110%. Nagging injuries like that rarely get better except through rest. If that means shutting JJ down for 2 weeks, fine. This is the time to do it, what with the weak schedule we face starting tomorrow and continuing through next Friday. If that means we lose 2-3 games we otherwise would win, fine. I don’t care how many games we win now. What I care about is having a healthy roster come April and May. The offense will go merrily along without JJ. Heck, maybe the absence of JJ will jolt Marvin and Jamal out of their offensive torpor and give Jordan Crawford some in-game experience he otherwise would have trouble getting. That could make us even stronger than we otherwise would have been.

Players rarely bench themselves due to nagging injuries (unless your name is T-Mac). Coaches have to do it for them. From the sources I’ve heard (mainly books, plus a couple frustrated agents I'm friends with), players don’t like to be perceived as unwilling to play through pain. Certainly, history is littered with players who have tried to “play through” a nagging injury only to aggravate it (Walton in the 70's is the most famous example; Garnett in '09 is a more recent one - as is JJ that same year), to the long-term detriment of themselves and their team. So it’s on LD and the other Hawks staff to tell JJ that he’s getting shut down for as long as it takes for his hand to heal. Better for him to miss 5 games now than 10 games in March or April.

Edited November 22, 2010 by niremetal

[frosgrim]

If Joe is hurt he needs to sit. It's not jus the lack of production, he's setting himself up for another injury. When injured you rely on other areas to get the job done. These areas are not used to doing what they are asked; hence another injury is around the corner.

JJ may only need a week to get hand better, but whatever the time is, I agree NOW is the time to do it.

[Diesel]

JJ's hand injury must be having an effect on his play. He injured it during the preseason and he's been playing through it. I'm sure JJ's been telling Drew he can play through it but I think it's time for Drew to step in and shut JJ down for a week to 10 in order to give his hand some time to heal.

These 4-14 shooting nights are naking it painfully obvious that continuing to run Joe out there with a bad hand is a bad idea in the longterm when you can give him some rest and rely on Crawford a little more in his absence.

Prediction: JJ goes off on Boston.

JJ loves to scorch Allen and Pierce. I think this game will be like old times. Only difference is that Boston has Shaq to intimidate Horf.. . and Rondo? Who is matched up with Rondo? Joe?

[gsuteke]

Joe can go for 40 tonight and it still won't change my opinion on whether he should shut it down for a week or so if his hand is injured.

This team needs to perform in may and june. If the guy is hurt he needs to be shut down considering how poorly he's been shooting the ball.

[TMacUnstoppable]

Like i said JJ shows up when he wants to!!! i look a Kobe,Bron,Cp3,Wade etc. than i look a Joe and smh... Joe biggest con-artist ever pretends he number 1 but he not.. Joe is really the number 3 after Al and Josh..

[Atlantaholic]

how much money do we lose if we cut him outright?

[TMacUnstoppable]

tell joe to tell his agents to find other team he willing to got to. this will fix the problem

[yungsta]

tell joe to tell his agents to find other team he willing to got to. this will fix the problem

i dont think anyone wants someone with the "worst contract in nba history"

[gsuteke]

The guy doesn't all of a sudden suck.

He's hurt. I didn't watch the game but I dvrd'd it and deleted it. I don't want to waste 2 hours of my life watching it.

I saw Joe was 2-10. Why haven't we shut this guy down already????

[Atlantaholic]

The guy doesn't all of a sudden suck.

He's hurt. I didn't watch the game but I dvrd'd it and deleted it. I don't want to waste 2 hours of my life watching it.

I saw Joe was 2-10. Why haven't we shut this guy down already????

I agree he doesn't all of a sudden suck. He has been gradually sucking more and more since the starts of the Playoffs last year, and now has reached a point where his suckitude is of epic proportions.

[itsslomotionbaby]

what else concerns me is joe doesnt even take the ball to the basket anymore. i see him pulling up on fast breaks even when its 2 on 2.

[Sothron]

I think he's trying to play through this but the results are obvious: he's hurt to the point its clearly affecting his shooting. I'd rather him rest (even though it would kill me in hawksquawk fantasy bball!).

[Eddielives]

Maybe I've just missed it but I haven't heard much talk of Joe being hurt during the games. If he is, then sit him down until he's healthy. I'm no JJ fan mainly due to his being overpaid and lack of leadership but he isn't this bad. After getting paid, you would think he would at least be par for the course for his career numbers during the regular season.