azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Johnson out for 3 games at minimum
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
A concussion kept Joe Johnson from remembering anything that happened in Phoenix's Game 2 loss to Dallas.
If it were only that easy to erase.
Phoenix appears to have lost Johnson for the next three games of this deadlocked, Western Conference semifinal series because of the displaced orbital fracture Johnson suffered during Game 2.
Johnson's surgeon said Thursday that Johnson would be re-evaluated in a week, which would follow Game 5 in Phoenix Wednesday. Phoenix plays at Dallas tonight.
"Surgery went smoothly and he is expected to recover fully," Dr. Edward Joganic, who performed Johnson's surgery, said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to evaluate Joe and assess his ability to play in the remainder of the playoffs in one week."
Johnson's spot at tip-off now goes to Jim Jackson, a starter for 80 percent of his career games before coming to Phoenix in January. Jackson often responds well to increased minutes but even his solid play can't fill the void left by Johnson, whose versatility had him looking like an All-Star for the past six weeks.
Johnson had not missed a game since joining Phoenix as a rookie, a span of 275 regular-season games and 12 playoff games. His teammates expect Johnson to fight his way back but wonder whether he will return this series.
"We've got to play our game," Jackson said a day after his team got wrapped up in exploiting one-on-one matchups early in Game 2. "It's not one individual. That's why our team is dynamic because we don't depend on one person."
A few options:
• Reserves Walter McCarty and Leandro Barbosa could see more playing time, although both had recent stretches where they were out of the rotation.
• Shawn Marion may have to spend more time at small forward again.
• Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said there is nothing wrong with Steve Nash playing 48 minutes. D'Antoni will stay with his preference to keep four shooters on the floor.
Phoenix was 7-6 this season when a starter was out.
"We've got our work cut out for us," D'Antoni said. "We have to show the strength we have inside as a team.
"We're still going to play the way we play. We just won't have Joe doing it."
Despite a first-half, defensive malaise and some offensive schizophrenia, the Suns gathered themselves with a big second half from Amaré Stoudemire and Quentin Richardson had a shot for the win.
Phoenix shot 41.6 percent, a rarity, and one that the Suns don't expect to happen four times in a series. Their whole plan is predicated on the notion that they can outshoot an opponent, even without Johnson.
"We played pretty bad," McCarty said. "We shouldn't have won it the way we play but we could've still won it."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0513suns0513.html
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
A concussion kept Joe Johnson from remembering anything that happened in Phoenix's Game 2 loss to Dallas.
If it were only that easy to erase.
Phoenix appears to have lost Johnson for the next three games of this deadlocked, Western Conference semifinal series because of the displaced orbital fracture Johnson suffered during Game 2.
Johnson's surgeon said Thursday that Johnson would be re-evaluated in a week, which would follow Game 5 in Phoenix Wednesday. Phoenix plays at Dallas tonight.
"Surgery went smoothly and he is expected to recover fully," Dr. Edward Joganic, who performed Johnson's surgery, said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to evaluate Joe and assess his ability to play in the remainder of the playoffs in one week."
Johnson's spot at tip-off now goes to Jim Jackson, a starter for 80 percent of his career games before coming to Phoenix in January. Jackson often responds well to increased minutes but even his solid play can't fill the void left by Johnson, whose versatility had him looking like an All-Star for the past six weeks.
Johnson had not missed a game since joining Phoenix as a rookie, a span of 275 regular-season games and 12 playoff games. His teammates expect Johnson to fight his way back but wonder whether he will return this series.
"We've got to play our game," Jackson said a day after his team got wrapped up in exploiting one-on-one matchups early in Game 2. "It's not one individual. That's why our team is dynamic because we don't depend on one person."
A few options:
• Reserves Walter McCarty and Leandro Barbosa could see more playing time, although both had recent stretches where they were out of the rotation.
• Shawn Marion may have to spend more time at small forward again.
• Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said there is nothing wrong with Steve Nash playing 48 minutes. D'Antoni will stay with his preference to keep four shooters on the floor.
Phoenix was 7-6 this season when a starter was out.
"We've got our work cut out for us," D'Antoni said. "We have to show the strength we have inside as a team.
"We're still going to play the way we play. We just won't have Joe doing it."
Despite a first-half, defensive malaise and some offensive schizophrenia, the Suns gathered themselves with a big second half from Amaré Stoudemire and Quentin Richardson had a shot for the win.
Phoenix shot 41.6 percent, a rarity, and one that the Suns don't expect to happen four times in a series. Their whole plan is predicated on the notion that they can outshoot an opponent, even without Johnson.
"We played pretty bad," McCarty said. "We shouldn't have won it the way we play but we could've still won it."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0513suns0513.html
