If Joe Johnson isn’t named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for March 19th-25th… I don’t know what I’ll do. I was going to say I’ll boycott the NBA, but I think we all know damn well that that isn’t gonna happen. Anyway, JJ posted somethin’ like 24 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4 assists as the Hawks went 4-1. The numbers aren’t eye-popping and three of the victories came against lottery-bound squads, but five games in seven days are five games in seven days, and taking care of business is taking care of business. The Hawks did that, and JJ connected on a seasons worth of clutch shots in the process.
Alright, let’s take a look back at the week Johnson just finished having. We’ll begin with Sunday night’s quadruple-overtime marathon and work backwards…
- 3/25–ATL 139, UTA 133 (4 OT): This game was awesome simply because it came with four overtimes, but it wasn’t always pretty. The Hawks were on the third night of a back-to-back-to-back, and the Jazz looked like they’d spent the entirety of Saturday night partying (probably because they had). Guys were gassed by the end of regulation (when JJ missed on an opportunity to end it), and most of ‘em were either fouled out or dragging their tongues on the floor by the time it finally wrapped up. A total of four points were scored in the first OT, for f@ck’s sake. I think that’s when Johnson realized he best get going. He went on to drop 13 of his game-high 37 in the last three OTs, including the three-pointer that kept ATL alive two OTs deep. He also nailed the long two-ball that made it a four-point game with under 20 ticks left in the fourth and final OT. None of the five field goals he scored in the overtimes were assisted… he was relied upon to initiate all the offense for himself. I didn’t like the shot he took at the end of regulation… it was off balance and came too early, but he certainly ended up delivering in a major way at a juncture where no one else was lookin’ like they could get the job done.
- 3/24–ATL 95, WAS 92: Johnson had been having a slow night, and the Hawks allowed the Wizards to build a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter. After fighting back to within three with about four minutes to go, JJ wasn’t about to let his team drop this one. He scored 9 of ATL’s final 11 as they finished the game on an 11-3 run. His last two were the free throws that extended the lead to three, and the previous three were the go-ahead jumper (Wizards botched that defensive possession real bad). The Wiz never scored again after that three-ball, so I guess you can call it a game winner. Joe totaled a routine 16, but he certainly left his mark on the game.
- 3/23–ATL 93, NJN 84: This was the uneventful evening of the bunch. Johnson didn’t shoot very well, scoring just 16 on 17 shots… but that was more than enough for the Hawks to get the win. Josh Smith was dominant down the stretch, scoring 13 of his 30 in a fourth quarter that saw ATL clobber the Nets 31-15.
- 3/21–ATL 103, CLE 102: Dude out-clutched Kyrie Irving in this game. Need I say more? The three that sent the game to overtime, the game-winning 15-footer… JJ nailed both of those, along with all but one of Atlanta’s final six field goals. He totaled 22 points on 19 shots–not a line to write home about–but with the way he finished the game his shooting numbers are about as relevant as a VCR.
- 3/19–ATL 76, BOS 79: The only loss of the bunch, but it was a lot closer than it should’ve been thanks to–guess who–Joe motherf@cking Johnson. He knocked down four threes on four tries in the fourth quarter, nearly leading the Hawks back from a 15-point deficit with just 2:57 to work with. Aside from Zaza Pachulia, Johnson was the only Hawk who played well at all. He dropped 25 on 9-17.
In short, Johnson dominated the fourth quarter in four of his five games. He hit the game-winning shot in two of those contests, and the contested three that kept his team afloat in another. Had Jeff Teague not choked on a fat one he probably would’ve been the hero a fourth time. I’m sure someone out there posted bigger numbers, but goddamn, JJ cold-bloodedly killed three different teams with his bare hands and raw skills. He did it with a certain style, too. Notice how casual he was as he hit all those monster shots. Like Barry Sanders simply handing the ball to the referee after a touchdown, he acted as if he’s been there before. Probably ’cause he has… maybe not this many times in such a brief stretch, though. How often does a dude knock down a pair of game-winners AND another couple shots to force OTs?
Joe Johnson earned his $120 million–and Player of the Week honors–this week. Dude’s ice-cold nature has had me seeing flashbacks to the ’08 playoffs, back when the Hawks were that team. Nowadays we’re all tired of Josh Smith’s trade requests and their inevitable early-round exits, but my dude JJ is still a pleasure to watch. He’s one of the smoothest scorers in the game, and the Player of the goddamn Week, dammit!
