Joe Johnson Out At Least Two Games
Added on Feb 22, 2012 by Scott in
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Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson will sit out the next two games with a banged up left knee. Johnson exited Monday night’s loss to the Bulls in the third quarter with what was initially diagnosed as tendinitis. He returned to Atlanta yesterday and was scheduled to undergo an MRI to rule out severe damage. The Hawks play in New York tonight, followed by a Thursday night home game against Orlando.
Johnson, who was named to this weekend’s Eastern All-Star squad, leads the Hawks in scoring at 17.6 points per game, and minutes played. Without him in the lineup, reserve guard Willie Green will start in his place. Green is averaging 7.3 points, but has netted 17 or more in three of his last five games coming off the bench.
The injury to Johnson deals another blow to Atlanta’s playoff aspirations. They are already missing starting center Al Horford, who is recovering from torn pectoral surgery that will likely prevent him from playing the remainder of the regular season.
The Hawks began the truncated season on a tear, going 11-4 in their first 15 games. Since then, they have dropped 9 of 17, including four of their previous five, and trail the Southeast Division-leading Heat by 6½ games. At 19-13, they sit at the sixth spot in the East.
The team is now without two of their big three stars. Power forward Josh Smith, who is second in scoring and the leading rebounder, will be tasked to pick up the slack, along with point guard Jeff Teague and the aforementioned Green. Smith has totaled 39 boards in his last three starts and narrowly missed a triple-double in two of them.
On a positive note, starting small forward Marvin Williams will be back with the team after a brief leave of absence to attend the funeral of a family member.
Atlanta faces Jeremy Lin and the red hot Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Source: ESPN.com
