Joe Johnson Getting the Short End of the Whistle? Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Filed under: Commentary— Chase Kuech @ 9:46 pm According to Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Coach Mike Woodson of the Atlanta Hawks has recently come public about his concern for the lack of foul calls on Joe Johnson, and his inability to reach the free-throw line. Johnson, one of the Eastern Conference leaders in possessions per game, has only seen half as many free-throws as the stars among the top ten in free-throws in the league. Even Al Harrington and Zaza Pachulia have had more foul shots than Johnson. Truth be told, there is a certain amount of getting to the line that comes from being an inside player. Johnson, compared to players like Iverson, Bryant, Wade, and James, does not spend as much time in the lane, but he certainly is there a fair deal. Johnson does drive through the lane and he does try to created his own opportunities, and according to Coach Woodson, “When he’s driving to the basket, guys have their hands all over him, and there’s nothing called.” Also, Johnson does spend a fair amount of time posting up on some of the smaller guards that play defense against him. Lebron James gets most of his calls based on the fact that he is bigger than most of the players who guard him. Johnson does not get that same respect. Josh Smith agrees with Coach Woodson, saying that the team is getting “screwed,” despite what the numbers might say. It is something that I felt displayed itself more clearly earlier in the year, but it seems to not have been so prevalent lately. The Hawks play tough defense, but get fouls called on them, and then do not get the same calls on the other end. It is difficult to be thought of as a defensive team when you’re always getting the ticky-tack fouls called on you. How do you play defense when everything you do is a foul? Especially on the inside, it’s impossible to play defense because fouls called are mainly just judgement calls. Against the Bucks on Monday, the Hawks had as many attempts (21), as the Bucks made (21-30). That has been the case in a number of games this season, as has been cited in my previous articles. It is no secret in the NBA that star players get the benefit of cheap foul calls. If you listen to the announcers, especially Bill Walton, you hear them talk about players getting the call, especially Lebron and Kobe. You hear the announcers say things like “that’s a superstar call” or things along those lines. Especially with the free-throw shooting talent of this team, it would be incredible to see how much the Hawks would change if they actually made it to the charity stripe. With the shooting abilities at the line of Pachulia, Johnson, Stoudamire, Williams, and the rest of the team, being able to shoot more free-throws doing a game would mean great things for this young squad. Are they supposed to believe that for the rest of their careers they are going to get the short end of the stick just because they play for a typically poor franchise? I sure hope not. Well, I’ll get back to the Knicks game now, and see how fouls for Francis and Marbury go, and we’ll see what happens tonight. Thanks to Mr. Smith for the article, he does some good things over there for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, so check him out! 資料來源 http://0rz.net/171e0 --

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