<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Four years after a fiery car wreck spelled the fate of DerMarr Johnson - he was pronounced dead at the time - a simple road trip back to Atlanta will recoil all those memories for the Nuggets guard."I've been back three times. But I see people I used to know and I do think about it," Johnson said. Johnson and the Nuggets travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks tonight at 5 p.m.In the early morning of Sept. 13, 2002, Johnson, then 22, drove a car carrying two friends into a tree in Atlanta. The car caught fire and the friends, one of whom was badly injured, pulled Johnson from the wreckage."When you see the car, the car blew up," said Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin, a friend of Johnson's who flew to Atlanta upon hearing the news and was the first to visit him in the hospital. "He got pulled out before the car blew up. Scary. I remember it like it was yesterday. The first call I'd gotten was that he had died."Though Johnson survived with a broken neck, his career with the Hawks, the team that drafted him with the sixth overall pick in 2000, was done. After missing the 2002-03 season, Johnson returned with the Phoenix Suns, was waived, then joined the New York Knicks."I was going on a good road at the time," Johnson said. "I had a good summer. Going into my third year, I was gonna be the starter there (in Atlanta). But when it happened, it kinda put me back down."With the Nuggets since 2004, Johnson has seen his role with the team change over time. He averaged 7.1 points and more than 17 minutes a game three seasons ago, but those numbers have dipped. Over nine games this season, Johnson is averaging 2.2 points and more than nine minutes."Even last year I played less than the year before," Johnson said. "All I can do is practice and practice hard and try to get on the court somehow. Because when I'm on the court and when I'm playing, the numbers say we win."With Johnson, a rare 6-foot-9 combo guard, the Nuggets have an unusual matchup problem for other teams. His 35 percent shooting from 3-point range last season was third-best on the team."I don't think there's any question that he has very good talent," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "But he thinks his offense can carry him. I think he needs to be more balanced as a basketball player."On Monday, during team practice at the Mavericks facility in Dallas, Johnson put his athleticism on display. His dunk over Andre Miller sent Miller to the ground and stopped practice amid oohs and aahs."I like my situation on this team," he said. "This is the best team I've been on. In Atlanta, I loved my teammates, but we weren't winning as many games as I was used to."</div>Man, I love DJ. What he has been through is amazing.
Ever since I heard this guys story I have loved him. He does need to play more, last year and this he has seen rare playing time which I think sucks. He is a good shooter and is athletic as hell.
