Atlanta Hawks News: Joe Johnson Out 4-6 Weeks, Was He Playing Injured?

No, it is not time to worry.

Joe Johnson was one of the big fish in this year's much-anticipated free-agency class, which contained such players as LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.  

The Hawks' main priority in the offseason, of course, was to re-sign Johnson, who was vital to the success of their team.  It was expected that the Hawks would re-sign him and, of course, they did.  The contract he signed was an NBA maximum $124 million over the course of six years.  Most believed the Hawks significantly overpaid, but hey, you kept your franchise player, so everyone is happy.

The Hawks had a strong start to the current NBA season as usual, but Johnson seemed to be struggling.  Now, I am not one to believe that you can criticize the "average" NBA player who averages 17.1 points per game and 5.2 assists per game, but as you probably already know, Johnson isn't your average Joe.

It was speculated that Johnson had a mystery injury, but nobody from the Hawks confirmed these suspicions.  The Hawks were and, I guess, still are doing very well, so nobody really took much notice of Johnson's inconsistencies.  

Now, here is where things get a little suspicious:  The consensus around the league is that there was quite obviously something wrong with one of the best shooting guards in the NBA.  He has always been relatively focused, so it was thought to be an injury. Apparently, Joe woke up a few nights ago with a bit of pain in his elbow and now magically needs surgery.

Not suspicious at all.

Anyway, Johnson underwent surgery the other night, performed by Dr. James Andrews. Johnson is expected to miss up to four to six weeks, which is a big blow for the Hawks as they have been doing so well of late.

Can they recover?

Of course. They have tons of depth, and I am not saying Johnson is replaceable, but in this case he may be. There are two options for the Hawks:  They can start Jamal Crawford and then have Jordan Crawford come off the bench, or they could keep Jamal's bench productivity and start with the young Jordan Crawford.  Either way, the Hawks should be fine.