Joe Johnson = Lamar Mundane

2 down, 80 to go, right?

In a game that tested the team's mental strength, the Hawks slowly eroded a 23 point first half deficit, took their first lead with less than 2 minutes to go, and then let Joe Johnson seal the comeback with a 32 foot bomb that should be described as clutch, giving the Hawks a 95-88 comeback win over the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night and leaving the Hawks with an as yet unblemished 2-0 record.

Ah yes, Joe Johnson. No slow start for him this year. In both games, Joe has buoyed the Hawks with his silent scoring early on and then applied the killer sauce at the end of the game.

During the Magic telecast, former coach and current analyst Matt Goukas remarked that Johnson was miscast as the go-to man and was best suited being a "3rd or 4th option, like he was with the Suns".

No offense intended to Mr. Goukas, but he's nuts. Johnson is miscast by a lot of media types like Goukas as a good player on a bad team---getting stats when it really doesn't matter. It's so wrong.

Johnson isn't merely a free shooter who checks the scoreboard in the second half to see how many points he has and if he should hijack the game to make sure he gets his. (That would be your own Reggie Theus, Mr. Goukas, during his run with your expansion club)

Johnson is one of the more versatile scorers in the league, able to score from anywhere (including 32 feet away, apparently) and look easy doing it. His scoring in the lane is so unrushed, so soft, that it really doesn't matter who is in there when he shoots.

Johnson buried 35 points on 14-23 shooting (yow!) and dumped in 5 assists as well. His dunk to give the Hawks the lead with less than two minutes to go and his 3 point dagger was indicitive of his desire to take the big shot and capability to be clutch, which was seen in the playoffs last year and is pouring over into 08-09.

You make make him 3rd or 4th option, Mr. Goukas, but when a 35 footer comes raining out of the sky, it'll wire you up.