Atlanta Hawks and the Tale of Two Joes: What Johnson Must Do for Hawks to Win

Joe Johnson often becomes public enemy No. 1 when anyone starts talking about how to make the Hawks better. For a guy who will make nearly $25 million when he's 34 years old, the criticism is understandable. 

Johnson is an easy punching bag, because that's a whole lot of money—the kind of money Kobe Bryant has certainly earned, and the kind Rashard Lewis certainly has not. Unfortunately, Johnson's numbers have declined the last couple of years, and with the big dollars comes the constant scrutiny.

To be fair, Johnson hasn't had a terrible season. He hasn't had a $20 million season either. 

The biggest problem is that he seems to be having two different seasons. 

In Hawks victories, Johnson is averaging 21 points per game on 45 percent shooting. In losses, those numbers dip to 13 points per contest on 36 percent shooting. Even more notably, Johnson averages almost three fewer shots in his losses and 2.4 fewer free throws despite playing the same number of minutes.

Johnson's worst two performances came against the league's two best defensive teams: Chicago and Philadelphia. Even in his best performances, he hasn't topped 27 points.

The verdict? Johnson is still a very good player, but he'd be the first to tell you he needs to play better. The difference between "very good" players and those that make Johnson's kind of money is the tendency to play at a high level against elite defenses (i.e. the ability to score more than 10 and eight points against Chicago and Philadelphia, respectively).

Johnson doesn't have the first step he once did and now relies on a healthy dose of three-point attempts (over five a game, to be exact). He can still free himself up for mid-range jumpers, and his post-game is decent for a guard. Johnson's herky-jerk game can certainly throw poor defenders for a loop.

However, his performance against superior defensive squads leaves something to be desired. Recall that Johnson averages fewer than two free throws in games the Hawks lose. After playing 31 minutes in Wednesday's 22-point loss to the Spurs, Johnson didn't get to the line once.

If he is to lead the Hawks toward contention in the 2012 NBA playoffs, Johnson must find a way to get to the basket and draw fouls. He has to be more aggressive, more decisive and be prepared to move quickly even when the Hawks offense isn't. Likewise, Larry Drew must find ways to get Johnson the ball on his way to the basket, banking on off-the-ball movement to compensate for his diminished slashing ability.

While Johnson's perimeter shots can be awfully effective (43 percent in wins), they can also be just plain awful (26 percent in losses). When the Hawks come face-to-face with Chicago or Miami in a seven-game series, Johnson can't depend so heavily on his long-range game. After all, when he makes it to the stripe, he cashes in 89 percent of the time. He just needs to get fouled first, and that means getting into the lane and drawing contact.

While Johnson still has much to prove, he remains indispensable to the Hawks' prospects of contention in the playoffs.  

Johnson boasts an 18.4 player efficiency rating, which is eighth among all shooting guards, and fourth among 2s playing over 30 minutes a game (behind Kobe, Wade and Monta Ellis). Those numbers hardly justify his salary, but they're obviously pretty good when compared against similar perimeter players. 

There's little doubt that Johnson can play like a winner when the Hawks actually win. Only time will tell if he can do the same against the best in the East and give Atlanta a shot at finally getting past that second round.