The next game - What will happen?

[Gray Mule]

We all know the facts. They can't be changed. But, our next game

will be something to watch and observe closely.

Which team will show up and how will they play?

With Josh Smith on the roster and playing in the games, Hawks are 19-16

and, here of late, they have been terrible.

Without Josh Smith on the roster and the floor, they are 3-0 and looked

like a different team, so much so that we are agape with the change in

how they played.

Will the suspended Josh start? Will he come off the bench? Will he kill

the chemestry? Will he continue to try to play as a point guard and dribble

the ball and take long, uncontested shots which he even sometimes hits?

Personally, I believe he wants to be another King James.

Will he continue to cry to the refs when he thinks he should have been given

a foul call? He hits around 50% of those. This leaves his four assistants,

which he believes them to be, to play 4 on 5 defense while he pleads his case.

(He sees himself so good, he has assistants, not team mates.)

Do I sound soured on Josh? I am. Enough already. Time to move on. As great

as he is, a super athlete, but a man child, some one neeeds him more than we do.

PLEASE!!

[Watchman]

Gray Mule, I logged on just to say that I agree with you 100%. We are a better TEAM without him.

[macdaddy]

Beast mode is coming. Its easy to forget what that looks like but it almost always happens after Josh has bottomed out mentally. Brooklyn/Joe hit us at exactly the wrong time.

[JackB1]

this is easy.....yes Josh will kill the chemistry and yes he will continue to do the same things he has done since day 1. trade Josh now!

[JohnnyCASH]

josh will come back blazing for the first 3 games back make us fall back in love with him,then go back to dumb josh

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Josh isn't going to play well offensively, but will hustle his butt off and may play well defensively. Whether that translates into a win or not, who knows.

[Ruckus]

josh will come back blazing for the first 3 games back make us fall back in love with him,then go back to dumb josh

I hope he has 40 and 20 his first two games back. And I hope the entire NBA notices. Then I hope we take advantage of this short term spike in trade value.

[a1032bc]

Speaking of the national media... I was a little shocked today on ESPN.com that they did not cover the Hawks performance without Josh more in their 'daily dime' column.

To now add the evidence of this Brooklyn win, with earlier season wins over Indiana and AT Oklahoma City.... I logged in today expecting to see a big write up regarding Josh's individual talents, but how the Hawks play better TEAM basketball without him, but the Hawks only got their usual one paragraph, mentioning Teague's performance only.

[drzachary]

Here's what I'd love to see happen:

Josh Smith comes off the bench, responds like a mature, highly-motivated player, plays to his strengths, and eventually re-earns his starting spot.

However, we're the Hawks. Good things like that don't happen to us. We get the Isaiah Riders of the world. We also have a coach who seemingly won't (or can't) discipline players when they behave like idiots in a game. It's clear that LD hasn't been able to get the best out of Josh, so here's what will probably happen:

Josh Smith starts the game, continues to do the same old tedious nonsense that literally every unbiased (and even many biased) observer can see is harmful to the team, and nothing ever changes.

I'd love to be optimistic, but his Q&A with the AJC has me more pessimistic than ever. Like most of you, I've made mistakes at work before, and I've reacted poorly (defensively finger-pointing) and positively (accepted responsibility, set improvement as a goal.) Nothing in Josh's nine years of play or more recent events leads me to believe that he will choose the latter over the former.

[Watchman]

DrZ - I agree. I have changed my opinion of Smith a zillion times. He'll have a string of games where you feel like he might be getting it after all, only to have him go back to being the monumental waste of physical ability he has become. Enough already.

[JackB1]

Drew should sit Smith to see if we play the same again. Why switch a winning formula?

[thecampster]

I've taken a bit of time to weigh in on this but there are a few things that need to be said. The 3-0 this year without Josh is an extremely small sample. Specifically, this last game the whole team got a wake up call when Josh was suspended. You are all speaking without any knowledge of what actually transpired but if I had to guess, I would say the effort we saw Wednesday had a lot to do with Teague finally going to the basket consistently and Zaza/Al on the floor together consistently and the Nets being a lax defensive team. 3 games doesn't allow for matchups/opponent diversity and the like. Quit drawing conclusions from 3-0.

Prior to this year and in their previous 20 games where Josh didn't play (dating back to 2007/8) the Hawks are 8 - 14. Including this year's stats they are still 3 games under .500 without Josh in the lineup. During that stretch they are 243 - 189. 56.25 winning percentage. Without Josh in the lineup, 44%, with him in the lineup 57%.

Although you scored well in that one game, the game was at home, the Nets, an older team at key positions were on the 2nd night of a back to back.

The Hawks offense has as much to do with Harris getting back into playing shape as it does the subtraction of Smith. Harris had 4 steals in the game, scored 18 points on just 11 shots. Harris' better team play as a starter than Williams is just as worth mentioning. Harris' +24 was far and away better than any other Hawk.

I think the throwing Smith overboard crowd needs to take a step back and breathe a little. A team that has to depend on Zaza (oops I was blocked by the rim again) Pachulia to play like an all-star nightly is in trouble.

Edited January 18, 2013 by thecampster

[Watchman]

I've taken a bit of time to weigh in on this but there are a few things that need to be said. The 3-0 this year without Josh is an extremely small sample. Specifically, this last game the whole team got a wake up call when Josh was suspended. You are all speaking without any knowledge of what actually transpired but if I had to guess, I would say the effort we saw Wednesday had a lot to do with Teague finally going to the basket consistently and Zaza/Al on the floor together consistently and the Nets being a lax defensive team. 3 games doesn't allow for matchups/opponent diversity and the like. Quit drawing conclusions from 3-0.

Prior to this year and in their previous 20 games where Josh didn't play (dating back to 2007/8) the Hawks are 8 - 14. Including this year's stats they are still 3 games under .500 without Josh in the lineup. During that stretch they are 243 - 189. 56.25 winning percentage. Without Josh in the lineup, 44%, with him in the lineup 57%.

Although you scored well in that one game, the game was at home, the Nets, an older team at key positions were on the 2nd night of a back to back.

The Hawks offense has as much to do with Harris getting back into playing shape as it does the subtraction of Smith. Harris had 4 steals in the game, scored 18 points on just 11 shots. Harris' better team play as a starter than Williams is just as worth mentioning. Harris' +24 was far and away better than any other Hawk.

I think the throwing Smith overboard crowd needs to take a step back and breathe a little. A team that has to depend on Zaza (oops I was blocked by the rim again) Pachulia to play like an all-star nightly is in trouble.

I wonder if we don't see Teague drive on a consistent basis is because our esteemed PF won't pass the ball to him and insists on bringing the ball upcourt himself. Teague plays great when Smith isn't around to badger him.

Also, perhaps the overall win percentage of the team (going back to 2007) wasn't as great back then as it has been the last three seasons. That might add some perspective to the 8-14 record.

[DrReality]

Josh needs to understand that if he doesn't play the way the team needs him he will sit. Pure and simple. Sit him on the bench cuz it's not all about him

[Ruckus]

Excuses are like assholes.

[JackB1]

what can't be measured in stats is the intangible negatives that Josh brings on the court with him and how it effects overall team play. Others see him complaining, being lazy, not boxing out and just not doing what's best for the team and they think its OK for them to not care either.

[PaceRam]

Drew should sit Smith to see if we play the same again. Why switch a winning formula?

I think I would rather see the Hawks play him and then compare the two games against the Nets (One with JS and one without him ). Of course, it can't totally comparable since one game was at home and the other is on the road but I think the Hawks can get some good information from these two games.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Considering Wednesday night's results, I wonder if Drew will do that "drastic change" to the lineup that he was planning to do.I still say that part of that change was going to be the benching of Jeff Teague. The change now should be to start Zaza & Horford at C and PF, with Josh being the SF. Keep the Teague and Harris backcourt.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

what can't be measured in stats is the intangible negatives that Josh brings on the court with him and how it effects overall team play. Others see him complaining, being lazy, not boxing out and just not doing what's best for the team and they think its OK for them to not care either.

Yes it can.He has a -0.7 Offensive Win Score and an Offensive Rating of 94. Both are Career Lows for Josh and just flat out horrible for a player of his stature.The intangibles that you talk about just make those other stats worse.Drew needs to limit his role in this offense as a guy who shoots from 15 feet and in at all times.If he played like Kenneth Faried, Josh would be a beloved Hawk, instead of this love/hate relationship he has with the fans.

[thecampster]

I wonder if we don't see Teague drive on a consistent basis is because our esteemed PF won't pass the ball to him and insists on bringing the ball upcourt himself. Teague plays great when Smith isn't around to badger him.

Also, perhaps the overall win percentage of the team (going back to 2007) wasn't as great back then as it has been the last three seasons. That might add some perspective to the 8-14 record.

Actually try reading my post. I posted the win percentage for the time...with and without Smith.