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Sunday, December 28, 2008
Superstar?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HAWKSVILLE - The debate has gone on since the day Joe Johnson came to town.
Is he a real “superstar” or one of the many wanna-bes around the league that are paid like true superstars while only performing the corresponding duties occasionally?
With so many impostors running around the NBA these days it’s easy to see why this debate has lasted for so long.
But after watching Johnson as closely as we all have the past three-plus years, I can’t for the life of me figure out how anyone thinks he’s anything but a legitimate All-Star (the term I’d use for players like Johnson, guys that are No. 1 options on legitimate teams).
After his 41-point explosion to lead the Hawks over Chicago Saturday night an advance scout from an Eastern Conference power the Hawks have vanquished once already this season stopped me in the hallway to discuss this very subject.
“I love this dude, man,” my scout friend said. “He’s got so many different shots he can go with. He can put it on the floor. He can stroke it from deep. He can pass. He can play in the half court. He can go up and down the floor. I’m not saying he’s better than Carmelo [Anthony] or LeBron [James], but in a pure one-on-one situation, and I’m just saying purely him against another man with the ball and the basket between them, I might have to go with Joe because his game is so much more versatile right now.”
We didn’t have long to hash this one out since he was heading out the door for his next stop and I was on my way to the Hawks’ locker room for the post game scrum.
But what he said stuck with me overnight. Might he be on to something that I’m not seeing?
Because I’m a fan of the way both LeBron and Carmelo aren’t shy about bulling their way around inside when they want to dominate and demoralize opponents.
That’s the one and only knock I have about JJ’s approach. Having watched him when he was at Arkansas (he was barely 200 pounds back then but still had all the wicked off-the-dribble stuff he uses to this day), I realize just how smooth his game is. But if he wanted to play the like physical monster he is now (at a chiseled 240 pounds), he could really make life miserable for opposing teams.
I decided to look at it another way. Would I trade Joe Johnson straight up for Carmelo Anthony right now? I don’t think so. LeBron, of course, is another story. So I can see where my scout friend was going with his analysis.
The best part is we get to see Melo and Joe on the same floor Monday night and judge for ourselves which guys is more valuable to his team, which me be far more important than which one is the better player in general.
NO CONTEST: If they wanted to collect Mike Woodson’s ballot for Rookie of the Year today he’d be ready.
After watching Bulls point guard Derrick Rose shred his team for season scoring highs in both matchups so far this season, Woodson is convinced that the lightning-quick Rose is the man for the top spot.
“Rose is just a special young man in terms of his talent,” Woodson said after Saturday’s game. “He looks like he’s been in this league for a long time playing this game. He’s going to be good for a long time if he stays healthy.”
With time to review the tape from Saturday’s game, Woodson’s praise for Rose was even more effusive after his team’s practice Sunday.
“How good is Rose?” Woodson said. “That guy is ridiculous. He’s ahead of all these other young kids at the same stage. He has no fear. No fear. You’d be stupid not to pick him Rookie of the Year. He’s the real deal. You can’t double him. You can’t keep him in front of you. He can go get his shot anytime he wants to. They showed a stat the other night that said he was 95-10 in high school and in college he was 38-2. All he knows how to do is win.”
STREAKING: The Hawks have won four straight games with a chance to finish off their home stand with their fifth straight win.
It’s a huge rebound for a team that looked anything but confident during a humbling 0-3 swing through Texas.
Woodson believes the seeds for his team’s 7-1 turnaround since then began in Miami Dec. 12 with a huge win over the Southeast Division rival Heat.
“That was a huge game for us just in terms of getting back to playing the kind of basketball we’re used to,” Woodson said. “We needed one of those kinds of games to energize our team and move forward.”
