Joe Johnson Must Raise His Play for Hawks and Himself

Filed under: Hawks, Magic, NBA Playoffs

ORLANDO, Fla. -- If free agent-to-be Joe Johnson really expects to be paid like one of the NBA superstars this summer, he better start playing like it.



Both he, and the Atlanta Hawks, are running out of time. And at this point, he is nowhere close -- and he knows it.



Johnson has been the unquestioned leader of the Atlanta Hawks for the past few years -- the biggest reason for their rise in stature -- and he has taken them into this best-of-seven, second-round Eastern Conference matchup against the Orlando Magic.



But he also was the reason they unexpectedly struggled against mediocre Milwaukee in the first round, and the biggest reason they looked so awful in Game 1 against the Magic.



"I'm responsible when we play like this. I'll take that. I'm the one who's supposed to do something about it,'' Johnson told FanHouse Wednesday after practice. "If I can't play any better than I have, then we're probably not going to win.''

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/05/05/joe-johnson-must-raise-his-play-for-hawks-and-himself/