As reported on TNT on Thursday night (and scooped by Sekou Smith on Wednesday, apparently much to the NBA's consternation), Joe Johnson will be making his second straight All-Star appearance this season and will represent the Eastern Conference in New Orleans on February 17. I spoke to him about it after practice today, and he was typical Joe - happy about the nod, but taking it all in stride. What can you say? He's a man of few words.

I on the other hand, love words, and am happy to use plenty of them to discuss his selection. In my opinion, this is a huge achievement for both Joe and the Hawks by extension. To be honest, I didn't expect him to get the nod this year. The fact that he did speaks volumes about the respect opposing coaches and players have for his game.

Last year, I wrote repeatedly that Joe deserved a spot on the team, and when he didn't get it at first, I was upset. I felt like he had been disrespected, and blamed it mostly on the fact that no one paid any attention to the Hawks. On an individual level, Joe was killing it last year. The team wasn't having a ton of success, but you couldn't blame any of it on JJ.

This year, I was much more realistic. Though I definitely thought Joe deserved a spot, there are others who, if you took them instead, you would have an argument. He's having a good year, no doubt, but I wouldn't say that (statistically speaking) he is playing quite at the level he did a year ago. Part of that I attribute to the maturation of his teammates; after all, Josh Smith was reasonably close to making the team as well, and Marvin Williams is having a career year as well. But in general, Joe has struggled a bit more this year than in years past.

So the fact that Joe made the team despite not having quite the same year as last season shows, to me, he has finally arrived on the NBA scene. His quiet demeanor and lack of national coverage may keep him from becoming a league-wide superstar, but clearly the rest of the league realizes what he brings to the table every night. And in turn, I think it shows the amount of respect the Hawks as a team are starting to get. Yes, they are struggling right now, but I don't think anyone in the league considers this team to be the league doormats they once were.

Congrats again to Joe, and hopefully this bit of good news will help the team regroup from the collective blow to the psyche that was the West Coast trip.