Big time ghost come playoff time. Do you guys think he his missing some kind of bulldog like approach or is he not physically talented enough? What do you think his stock is like after these playoffs?
He fits the mold of a guy who was constantly underrated throughout his whole career and never felt the pressure, but after the Boston series a couple of seasons ago, he finally got the spotlight and caved under pressure. He has become overrated to me and doesn't deserve max dollars. He is physically gifted, but not mentally.
Pretty much sums it up. A few years ago when people talked about underrated players Joe Johnson's name would always pop up. Now he has become overrated.
Ehh, the hawks as a whole are overrated. This was always going to be a one sided series. I mean they almost lost to an injury depleted Milwaukee team whose best player was a rookie...
He's a great beta but a complete failure as an alpha. He's no leader and does not inspire his teammates. I put him in the same class as Pau Gasol. JJ just needs the right alpha dog to ride side-saddle next to. If he is serious about winning a championship, he should leave Atlanta and join up with another superstar.
Hmm, I giggled a bit here. Anyways, I don't think he has a soft mentality; I just think he can't handle being the MVP of his team. He is more of a Robin than a Batman, IMO. If he could go to a team with a superstar already, like Miami, or go to a team in which that team is getting two superstars (Bosh / Wade and Johnson), then Johnson will feel less pressured, and probably play better.
Miami would be great for him, Dwade is Alpha through and through. Unfortunately for him, Miami is looking for a post presence first.
Agree with most of what you said. He's not a max guy, but the market dictates what a team will pay him and the max is exactly what someone will give him.
Actually I'd put him under Pau Gasol. Gasol (like Dirk) are really more of 2nd tier stars but still deserve max money. JJ doesn't deserve max at all.
Though, I think overall Nowitzki might be a little bit better than those two, and more deserving of max money. Nowitzki can be the main guy on a team and it still can do relatively well or go deep into playoffs. The other two guys not so much, if Gasol and JJ are your main guys, you probably won't get past the 1st or 2nd round to often.
this dude is one of the worst playoff performers i have ever seen who i consider to be a star player. he's just flat out terrible. 1 good-great game every series playing in the damn east is pathetic.
We can play these games all night. Neither of those players are asked to do what JJ does for the Hawks. He's their top scorer, their primary playmaker and regularly defends the opponent's best perimeter player. Based on who deserves what in terms of salary he absolutely deserves it. Hell, he practically put that Hawks team on the map all by himself. It's very true that he went from underrated to somewhat overrated (even though the Hawks and JJ as a superstar get almost no exposure) and that he absolutely cannot be the alpha-male star on a contender. That's not necessarily a bad thing for his sake, Atlanta brass just needs to put him and that team in the right situation. A_3PO and a few others seem to actually get this so it's nice to know I'm not alone an island here.
i think it's beyond just not being able to handle the alpha-male role. for a guy who has the ball as much as he does in the playoffs, and so much of the offense catered to him, i have never seen someone with that kind of responsibilities become a ghost so many times. i know we had different opinions about this in regards to his performance in last year's playoffs (where i claimed he was literally a ghost despite advancing and you disagreed). and i do like the guy b/c he just does his thing and doesn't talk much.
I hope this is the only player that the Knicks sign this summer. :grin: Then the rockets have a good chance to be up in the draft.
You aren't familiar with Pau's days on the Grizzlies? The comments about him then were more vicious (and accurate) than what many say about JJ now. JJ plays on a brainless team with a mediocre coach. He just cannot carry a team like this on his back. Put him on a talented team as the #2 to a superstar alpha dog (like happened to Pau) and you would have a championship favorite.
performance-wise, pau wasn't a "ghost" like johnson has been (sometimes i ask myself if he's even on the court). sure, pau's team got swept all 3 times, but it was more of his team's lack of talent v. his opponent's team as opposed to pau literally sucking. JJ has the ball in his hands more (not like pau who needed someone to give him the ball) and controls the offense a lot. and it isn't like his team has ZERO talent. brainless? josh smith and horford have been performing admirably (and josh has cut back on dumb shots by A TON so far in this playoffs) and putting up basically doubles doubles. this team does have talent (a lot of it). it is just that joe johnson cannot perform to his reg. season level for some damn reason in the playoffs and that puts more pressure on his other teammates, who aren't star players. joe johnson and crawford are playing below their reg. season levels and that's why the hawks struggled v. the bucks and i doubt you put johnson on a team as a #2 and that team becomes a championship FAVORITE.
I have no interest in going down this road again with you. No offense. Like any player, he has his limitations. It's up to Atlanta's brass to recognize this and make roster moves accordingly. Unfortunately, their tradeable assets are rather limited. Somebody like CP3 would be ideal (and yes, I realize the irony there), however the Hawks don't really have the type of salary necessary to get within striking distance of CP3 + Peja (or whatever crap contract it would take) to get the deal completed. Plus, new ownership of the Honeybees might decide against trading him. In any event, I am just dreamcasting as somebody that follows the Hawks closely. Just saying, CP3 is the type of alpha-male star/leader that the Hawks desperately need. They're too much of an up-and-down team that brings too little in the intangibles department to continue their current course without a player of that magnitude. JJ could be a lethal second option in an offense like that.
