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Ex-Sun Johnson upbeat on floundering team
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FAMILIAR FOE: Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, left, and Phoenix’s Grant Hill fight for the ball during a Nov. 7 game.
The Associated Press
Three seasons after leaving the Suns for the Atlanta Hawks, guard Joe Johnson is well aware that life in the NBA holds only one certainty for him: boos will rain down whenever he plays in Phoenix.
SLIDESHOW: View photos from the game
“That’s a given, but I look forward to it,” Johnson said with a grin after Tuesday morning’s shoot-around.
Johnson, though, hasn’t had many reasons to smile since his 3 1/2-year tenure with the Suns ended in the summer of 2005 with a messy public divorce.
While Phoenix has maintained its elite status and advanced deep into the postseason every year since, the Hawks have lost almost twice as often as they’ve won (74-130 through Monday night) and haven’t come close to sniffing the playoffs.
Still, the 6-foot-7 guard has tried to remain positive and insists the latter fact hasn’t worn on him yet.
“I want to make the playoffs, but I wouldn’t necessarily say I miss it,” said Johnson, who was a reserve for the East in last year’s All-Star game and could be this year as well.
“I’ve been enjoying it (in Atlanta). The city has always been great, and we’re trying to work it out here with the organization. I think we’re moving in the right direction. We still have a lot more room for improvement, but we’re getting there.”
This season may very well end up being a turning point in the franchise’s history. Atlanta hasn’t made the playoffs since 1999, but it came into Tuesday’s action seventh in the East.
The Hawks also are on pace for 36 to 37 wins, which would be their most since going 50-32 in 1997-98.
Half the season remains for Atlanta and while Johnson knows there are no guarantees, if the Hawks do make the playoffs, it will be a great source of pride for him since he would be a key ingredient in the organization’s rebirth.
“I just think when we do get there it will be something special,” Johnson said.
“Hopefully, we make this playoff push and get into the playoffs. It (everything that happened in the past) will be worth it.”
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