A day later, Joe Johnson was at loss for words about the Hawks’ embarrassing Game 4 loss to the Celtics on Sunday that has the team on the brink of playoff elimination.
His one-word answer to a question on his number of shot attempts spoke volumes.
Johnson took just eight shots in the 101-79 loss to the Celtics, who are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 Tuesday at Philips Arena.
“I don’t think they are doing anything different defensively on me,” Johnson said. “I think it’s just basically getting an opportunity to touch the ball. That’s it.”
When asked if he was not happy with his touches, Johnson answered with a simple, but emphatic, “No.”
The Hawks are trying to become only the ninth team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a seven-game series. The last team to do so was the Suns, who overcame the deficit against the Lakers to win a first-round series in 2006. If they are to do so, coach Larry Drew agrees that Johnson must play a more active role in the offense.
“We run a lot of things through [Johnson],” Drew said following a team meeting Monday. “He’s got to be more aggressive in working to get his shots and we have to be mindful when he hasn’t had a shot in one or two trips down the floor, we’ve got to get him the ball.”
Drew credited the Celtics’ defensive game plan against Johnson. While Paul Pierce has drawn the bulk of the assignment, the Celtics have also used double-teams, switches and crowding on the Hawks’ all-star to make things difficult. The Hawks have also failed in their offense, according to Drew.
“Just watching the film in flying back [Sunday] night, there were a number of situations where we could have just made one extra pass and the extra pass would have been to him,” Drew said. “We’ve just got to be a little bit more mindful to make sure he is getting touches.”
Johnson finished with just nine points on 4-of-8 shooting. For the series, Johnson is shooting just 25-for-68 (.368), including 6-for-25 (.240) from 3-point range. Those numbers are down considerably from his regular-season field-goal percentage (.454) and 3-point percentage (.388).
For the series, Johnson leads the Hawks with a 17.8 points per game, just a tenth of a point more than Josh Smith.
In the Game 3 overtime loss in Boston, Johnson led the Hawks with 29 points on 11-for-28 shooting. Point guard Jeff Teague said the Hawks have to get back to what was effective, which was relying on Johnson.
“We’ve got him the ball in Game 3,” Teague said. “He got a lot of touches. [Sunday] night, they took us out of our stuff and made it difficult to get him the ball. We will try to make a conscious effort in Game 5 to get him the ball and make sure he makes plays for us.
“He is our go-to player. Eight shots are not enough, especially in a playoff game for a guy who can play like him.”
Center Al Horford, who returned to action for Game 4 for the first time since January surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle, said the offense was not slowed by trying to work him back into the rotation. He said Johnson has to be more aggressive and still be mindful of the importance of quick ball movement when double-teamed. Getting Johnson more touches does not mean more Iso-Joe offense.
“Joe is our main guy,” Horford said. “We go to him. He has to get us going offensively so he needs to go out there and be an enforcer and make his presence felt. I don’t think my shots or Erick Dampier’s shots are affecting him. I think Joe needs to be aggressive. He needs to go out there and score the ball. That’s when we are at our best, when he does that.”
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