Josh Smith has been getting a lot of recognition of late for his prowess in the genre of blocking shots. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise, as a) he is second in the league at 3.1 rejections per game, and b) he's pretty much been knocking out every "youngest person to ever block x amount of shots" record ever since he got to the NBA.

I mention this today for two reasons. One, the bloggers at Empty The Bench have listed their rankings of the best shot-blockers in the NBA, and Smoove checks in at #5.

I might quibble with putting Yao Ming in front of him on this list since his height has so much to do with his prowess (whereas I think Josh is incredibly skilled at rejecting shots), but otherwise, I'd say this list looks about right.

If you want to see Smith at his finest, check out this compilation of his best blocks of 2007 courtesy of NBA video (#1 can be seen above.

He may need work on his three-point shooting, but when it comes to sending basketballs into the seats, there are few better than Atlanta's own Josh Smith.

I know there are a lot of people out there who scoff at the work of people like ESPN's John Hollinger, refusing to believe that there could be any other way to judge basketball players than by points, rebounds, and assists.

Still, the stats-behind-the-stats movement is gaining steam across all sports, and Hollinger is probably the most well known amongst the NBA crowd (and was kind enough to do a Q&A with us this past season).

Anyway, his yearly PER rankings (Player Efficiency Ratings) were released yesterday, and in them he foresees good things for several Hawks players.

For one, he projects Josh Smith as the 25th most efficient player in the league, right in front of All-Stars Ray Allen (26th), Rashard Lewis (27th), Chauncey Billups (28th), Vince Carter (29th), and Shawn Marion (30th). I mean, look at those names - that is some heady company.

Joe Johnson checks in at 39th. For those wondering how Joe could be 14 spots lower than J-Smoove, just remember the impact that Josh has on the defensive end with his blocked shots and steals (Joe is a great defender, but defensive performance is the hardest thing for most statisticians to quantify outside of blocks and steals, so Josh gets quite a boost from that). Interestingly, I think Hollinger rates Joe lower than you might think for someone as talented as he is because he expects the Hawks to improve this year and require Johnson to shoulder less of the load.

These rankings aren't perfect, and Hollinger doesn't argue that they are the end-all-be-all of player evaluations. But still interesting to see where his complex mathematical formulas have the Hawks performing.

Hollinger sets the league average at 15.00, and has four Hawks eclipsing that mark: Smith at a team-high 20.74, Johnson at 18.77, Zaza Pachulia with 16.87, and Josh Childress at 16.6 (who, in his notes, he trumps as a legit Sixth Man candidate). Tyronn Lue and Marvin Williams check in just below the cut-line at 14.68 for T-Lue and 14.63 for Marv. It should be noted that rookies don't get rankings, so though he is very high on Al Horford and, to an extent, Acie Law, they don't show up here.

If you don't have ESPN Insider, you won't be able to see all the profiles of the individual players, but the rankings themselves are fascinating and represent the next generation of player evaluation, so definitely check them out.

Another day of practice, and another three-plus hour marathon for the Hawks. I saw most of the same stuff today as I saw on Tuesday, with more up-tempo work to get the team accustomed to that style of play.

Continuing on another thread from yesterday, Joe Johnson was once again very vocal. I spoke with him after practice about increasing his leadership within the team, and he definitely sounds like someone who is intent on asserting himself within the locker room for the coming season.

In watching them run today, I saw another thing that interested me: Josh Smith shooting (and making) a turnaround jumper from the baseline. I don't know that I've seen him take (or make) many of those in his career, and I know he spent his summer working out with Hakeen Olajuwon on post moves, so perhaps this is a product of that. Either way, a turnaround J would be a lethal addition to Smoove's offensive repertoire, as there is pretty much no one in the league who would be able to block it.

We'll have to keep an eye on it as the preseason progresses...

 

Catching their breath between drills

Shelden Williams shows off his free throw shooting touch

Hawks video coordinator John Beckett looks on with Tyrone Hill

With summer league play over (job well done Shelden and Acie, nabbing All-RMR honors - and Al Horford might have if he hadn't hurt his ankle), and nothing else really going on until the start of training camp in October, I thought this would be a good time to take a look at the Hawks roster and check out everyone's status on the team. It should be a good way to kill some time over the next few weeks and help bridge the gap until the season starts!

Today I thought we'd begin the series with one of the Hawks' biggest stars, entering fourth-year forward Josh Smith. How do you think these players will do? Leave your answers in the comments!

Josh Smith

2007 Stats: 16.4 ppg (second on team), 8.6 rpg (led team), 2.9 bpg (2nd in NBA), 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg

2007 Highlights: Josh had several terrific games in 2006-07: 28 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in a late-season win over Milwaukee, a near triple-double (missing it by a single point, of all things) in a rout of Sacramento on Mar. 19, or a stat-stuffing 26 points, 17 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 block night in a win over Philly on Mar. 13.

For my money though, Smoove's best game of the year came in a win over Minnesota on Mar. 10, when he torched the nets for a career-high 32 points on 12-15 shooting. Smith took over the game, stepping easily into the role of go-to guy in the absence of Joe Johnson.

What he needs to work on this summer: Josh still turns the ball over too much, and needs to work on picking and choosing his spots for his jumper. A 25% rate on 3-point attempts is not going to keep defenses from sagging off on him to guard against penetration. It also appears that his future is at the power forward position, so developing some more low-post moves is in his best interest as well. Fortunately, that's exactly what he is doing, as he is working on his offensive game in Houston this summer with Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Calvin Murphy.

Click here to see Josh's video highlights!

Outlook for 2007-08: Josh's numbers have improved across the board in each of his three seasons so far. So what Josh Smith will we see during the 2007-08 Hawks campaign? Will we see an emerging player that stepped his game up in the absence of Joe Johnson towards the end of last season? Will he continue to be an aggressive player that attacks the rim with no regard for his opponent on offense and protects the rim like the '85 Bears on defense?

The arrival of a physical low-post defender like Al Horford should lead to improved defensive play from Smith. Horford's presence on the post will allow Josh to better defend his man on the wing and help out inside like always. On offense, it will be interesting to see if the improvements Smoove is working on this summer (plus the confidence he gained while JJ was hurt) leads to him firmly establishing himself as an offensive threat that teams have to respect on each possession. With him and the arrival of sharpshooter Acie Law, perhaps the days of teams double- and triple-teaming Joe Johnson are over.

He wuz robbed, says I. I'm not saying Josh should have been a first-teamer, but I definitely think someone who finished second in the league in blocked shots would garner more recognition for his efforts than he received.

Hoping to get some clarification on the subject, we reached out to 82games.com, a great basketball website that does some pretty incredible statistical analysis of the game behind this game we call NBA Basketball.

I posted on our front page the Q & A we did with them - you should check it out. From what I read of their responses, it sounds like Josh is well on his way to becoming a dominant player on the defensive end of the court and perhaps a future fixture on the all-league defensive squads.

Check it out!
 

First of all, I apologize for the headline. I don't watch American Idol, and I really have no idea who Sanjaya is, I just hear people talking about him.

Anyway, this week, Josh Smith is "competing" in a celebrity karaoke competition against WSB-TV's Jovita Moore on Q100.

I think it's your duty as a Hawks fan to go to the site, listen to his vocal stylings, and vote for Josh.

I would say "Smoove, don't quit your day job", but listening to his performance, clearly he is having a good time with it, so I can't kid him too much. 

Let's get him a win here, whaddya say? Get out there and rock the vote!

Well, I suppose a valedictory of the season is warranted before we truly move on to the business at hand of figuring out just where the ping-pong balls are going to put us for the NBA Draft.

I look at the past season as a four-act play.

Act One - Hangin In:
This comprised most of the first quarter of the season, where we battled through injuries (a recurring theme) to stand 8-9 after an improbable 98-96 win at Denver on December 6. Things were looking up - we were set to get Marvin Williams back from his broken finger, Joe Johnson was one of the leading scorers in the NBA, and Tyronn Lue was playing the best basketball of his career.

Act Two - Die Hard:
It began the next game out, as JJ hurt his calf against the Lakers and things started to trend in the wrong direction. The tipping point came in two games, as the Hawks failed to hold onto two late-game leads (including a 21-point fourth quarter spread) against the Bulls and Jazz. Those losses were devastating. I don't think I've ever felt two losses affect my physical well-being as those games did, and I just work on the website. You can imagine what it did to the team's confidence.

At this point, a perfect storm of circumstances caused the season to spiral downward at an almost dizzying pace. T-Lue hurt his groin. Josh Smith had to have surgery for a hernia. Speedy continued to deal with knee problems that limited his effectivess. Joe's calf. Marvin's finger. Shelden's shoulder. Childress's foot. It went on and on, and all while the team dealt with a brutal schedule that saw the team face seven playoff teams in eight games (with the eighth being Indiana, a team that was comfortably in the playoff picture at that point).

Predictably, the team lost all eight games, and now, sitting at 9-21, hope appeared lost.

Act Three - The Resurrection:
A surprising thing happened at that point. Act Three saw the team begin to play better, starting with an 86-74 home win over the Clippers on January 6. Despite a few bad losses (including consecutive blowouts to Charlotte on back-to-back nights), the Hawks strung together some impressive wins, including a home victory over Detroit, on the road at Minnesota, and home-and-away wins against Orlando to take the season series. The Hawks finished January with a winning record, the first time the team had achieved such a feat over a full month since a 9-7 March back in 2002. February started off well too - the team won three of four on a West Coast road trip going into the All-Star break (including an all-but-inconceivable win at Phoenix), and things were looking up. Even with all the injuries and the big losing streak, the team was just a few games out of a playoff spot to start the second half and to top it off, Joe made the Eastern Conference All-Star team (yeah yeah, I know it was as a replacement, but we all know he was deserving, so shut it).

Unfortunately, that led to:

Act Four - the Deluge:
Another brutal stretch of scheduling (at Chicago, home to Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio, and at Dallas), saw the team fall further back, and then the bottom dropped out when Joe Johnson was lost for the season after suffering a calf injury at Miami on March 5. The team responded well at first, winning four straight, but eventually the loss of their best player was too much to overcome. Further injuries continued to compound the problem, and soon the playoffs faded from sight. Fans began rooting for the team to lose (Commies) to protect the draft pick that heads to Phoenix if not in the top three, and the team obliged, albeit unwillingly.

There were positives even in the free fall, as Josh Smith continued to show off the game that leads many to predict All-Star game appearances in his future, and both Marvin and Shelden Williams had strong finishes with increased playing time.

Now, as we get ready to begin working on the script for 2007-08, it's time to say thanks to all the fans who stuck with the team through a true roller-coaster of a season. It was great at times and excruciating at times, but hopefully in the end the team takes with them the necessary lessons to build towards tomorrow.

Despite the season's finish, I find myself very optimistic about the future. Yes, we finished with the 4th worst record in the league. But I refuse to believe we couldn't have competed for a playoff spot, if not earned one outright, if we had ever gotten the chance to play with a full deck. We didn't and that's on us - every team deals with injuries, so you can't play the poor me card too much. But I'm not ready to give up on this roster, and I think we are set up to make some interesting moves this summer to improve.

So again - thanks to all the fans for your support this season. Good times are around the corner, I can feel it. Stick with us.

Everyone who played contributed last night. Zaza Pachulia had 18 points at halftime on his way to 23 on 11-12 shooting. Marvin Williams had nearly a double-double in the first half, finishing with a full one (13 points, 11 rebounds).

And then there was Josh Smith. A short aside first.

Last night, about one minute into the game, ace Hawks PR man Jason Roose came over to my station on press row to ask if I was live-blogging the game. I wasn't, but FYI, I will be live-bloggin Wednesday night for the Miami game (plug!). I asked him why, and he said he wanted it on the record that Josh Smith was going to get his first triple-double tonight. Obviously, you will have to take me at my word on this one, but the game literally was less than 90 seconds old when he made this proclamation. Man was he close to being right.

Josh ended up a point shy of turning Roose into a modern-day Nostradamus (Smoove finished with 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists), but the fact that he came that close is just another testament to the all-around player Smith is on his way to becoming.

Just to recap, in the last week, Josh has now set career-bests in points (32 against Minnesota), rebounds (17 vs Philly), and assists (10 against Sacto). He is starting to remind me of myself, actually. And by that I mean, when I used to rock Tecmo NBA Basketball on my old-school Nintendo, I used to play with the Bulls and see how many different things I could do with Michael Jordan, like how many steals he could get, or points he could score, etc.

The way Josh is playing right now, it's almost like he is thinking to himself, "Let's see, what statistical category do I want to fill up tonight?" Meanwhile, the Hawks have won five of seven since losing Joe Johnson. Cause that makes sense.

By the way, the picture to the right is from a dunk Smith nearly pulled off last night that, had he finished it, would have probably been the best dunk these eyes had ever seen. Here is a link below to see for yourself. He missed it, but man if he had nailed it...wow.

Josh Childress, lest we forget his efforts, also had a great night as well, popping for a season-high 25 points. He was particularly present in the third period, hitting 6-6 from the field and earning himself the lead in Rob Blackstien's fantasy hoops column for USA Today.

With the Heat coming to town Wednesday night, it will be important for the Hawks to play team ball the way they did against the Kings (they dished out a season-high 32 assists). They can win this game without Joe. Man, who thought we would be able to say that two weeks ago.

Is there a more polarizing player in the NBA than Kobe Bryant? Within the past few weeks, he's been fined, suspended and, according to Phil Jackson, "witch hunt"-ed by the League for several elbows, all of which made contact with defenders' faces. On the heels of this controversy, Kobe scores 65 in an overtime thriller against the Trailblazers, prompting Zach Randolph to begrudgingly say, "If he would have missed one, it probably would have given us a chance."

The highlight of Kobe's performance was capped by a ridiculous fade-away three pointer from the corner against a double team trap. Did I mention that he faded-away by spinning to his unnatural side? It's a shot that kids in driveways will try to imitate, but turn cross-eyed in the process due to the shot's difficulty.

We've seen Kobe do this before, scoring 81 against the Raptors. But I'd like to talk about his elbows for now. On several radio talk-shows, commentators and callers alike could not seem to agree on whether Kobe had been intentionally elbowing his opponents. Was he flailing his elbows in an attempt to draw a foul? Is this simply an unnatural follow through that no one has noticed before? Or are his actions blatantly intentional, making his undoubtedly a dirty player? Kobe fans vehemently defended him, while Kobe haters attacked him. But it was apparent that no one really knows for certain.

I'd like to express my opinion. After watching these elbows several times, I've concluded that he had the intent to elbow his defenders. There are a number of incredible basketball attributes that Kobe has been blessed with. Among these include an uncanny ability to control his body, whether mid-air or on the floor. Not since Michael Jordan have I witnessed someone with better body control while scoring. He knows exactly what he's doing. This is my opinion, but it's clearly David Stern's too. The Commish couldn't hit five straight free throws to save his life, but he knows the personnel of his League better than anyone. That's why he probably spent hours and hours rewinding footage of Kobe's elbows before deciding that fines, a suspension and a lasting watchful eye was the correct punishment.

Enough about the mystery that is Kobe, and onto another mystery – these Hawks. How does a team struggling to find the winning edge with its one and only all-star, Joe Johnson, manage to win four straight, including a big one against a streaking Philly team, without him? And then, how do they have their streak snapped by losing to the Celtics? I can't figure us out. The only people more confused about the Hawks than I am might be Vegas lines-makers. So instead of trying to break down why the Hawks can look so good on certain nights and like a NDBL team the next, I'll simply give my observations.

Josh Smith will be a superstar one day. The kid (it's hard to believe he's only 21 years old) has shown the past few games that he's unafraid to take on the role as a team's leading scorer, play everything from off-guard to power forward, and take big shots down the stretch. Sometimes it takes an undesirable situation to bring out positives and that appears to be case here with Joe Johnson's injury. Josh has been forced to play a bigger role on the floor and his teammates clearly trust him to make plays. This isn't to say that he's done with his development. He still has a long way to go. One of my primary criticisms of Josh is that his body and hands are never in the "ready" position to shoot. He often looks like he's surprised when he catches the ball on the perimeter and his release is slowed by this. If only someone would help him with his shooting preparation, particularly with his footwork and hand-placement, I'm convinced that not only will he score more, but that he also will shoot at a higher percentage. I'll leave it at that for now.

The Hawks are still not out of it. With 15 games remaining, the East's bottom two playoff spots remain available for the taking. Both the NJ Nets and Orlando Magic only have 30 wins. It's not crazy to assume that 36 or 37 wins could get a team into the playoffs. It's a stretch, but it's certainly possible. So hopefully Joe's getting his well-deserved rest and he'll be available for the last few games of the season for one final push. Lets go Hawks!

The above picture says it all. The Hawks, streaking downcourt, with their opponents on their collective heels. What can you say about this winning streak? Last night's game was by far the most impressive of the four wins, as we took on a Philadelphia team that had won seven-straight games but was out of this one by the end of the first quarter. The final score may have been 104-92, but it was never that close.

Josh Smith continues to be a revelation, as he followed up his 32 point effort against Minnesota with 26 more (and a career-best 17 rebounds) in this one. I'll just come out and say it. Smoove was the best player on the court last night. I think that's the first time I've ever thought that to myself. What impressed me the most? The way he attacked the basket inside against Samuel Dalembert and Steven Hunter, two guys who defend the paint very well.

Josh was incredible, but as we have seen during this winning streak, it wasn't all about him. This was another tremendous team effort, with six Hawks scoring in double-figures, tying the season-high. Salim Stoudamire tried in vain to join the group, but finished with nine. Here is a photo gallery from the game - really a treat to watch from start to finish (the game, not the photo gallery - though they are nice shots).

So, here we are again. Four games out of the 8th spot, still sitting 11th overall. Many of the teams in front of us are heading in the wrong direction: Indy has lost 10 straight, Orlando has lost eight of ten, and New Jersey has only recently righted the ship, winning two straight after a five-game losing streak.

I feel like I ask myself this every day - can we really make a run? There are only 17 games left in the season, so I don't want to get all riled up for nothing. But if they continue to play the way they have since the loss to Miami, they could make things interesting.

The two game road trip that starts tonight in Boston will pretty much determine whether or not a run is possible. The Celtics are back to relative mediocrity since Paul Pierce returned, so they won't be a pushover. Both teams are playing the second of a back-to-back, so there is no rest advantage for either unit.

Friday we play at Indiana, a team in an absolute freefall. A win there would not only keep the team headed in the right direction, but would allow the Hawks to make up a game in the standings directly against the competition.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. But at the same time, a split on this trip would be tremendous, especially with another four-game homestand beginning next Monday against Sacramento.

First things first though - let's see if we can't grab our first five-game winning streak since the 1999-2000 season. Tune in tonight to FSN South at 7:30 for all the action!

The first thing to mention about tonight's game, for anyone who isn't going, is that the game is being broadcast in HD. That is pretty sweet. Every sporting event in the world is better in HD. It's one of three games coming up for the Hawks that will be in HD:

- 3/13 vs. Philly
- 3/19 vs. Sacramento
- 3/21 vs Miami

I am in no way saying you shouldn't go to those games; you should. But if you can't make it for whatever reason, definitely catch the action in HD, you will thank me for it.

As for tonight's game, the Hawks are streaking, having improbably won three straight without Joe Johnson. Of course, tonight's opponent, Philly, is even hotter, having won seven straight to pull within shouting distance of a playoff berth as well. They have beaten us twice already this year - the season-opener at Philly, and in late January at Philips.

I talked to Hawks assistant Greg Ballard today to break down the Sixers, and he says Andre Miller deserves a lot of credit for the team's play of late. I have always found him underrated, and I think he is one of the best distributors in the league. Tyronn Lue agrees, or so he told me in our podcast (shameless plug).

When we lost to the Sixers in January, I thought their bigs were particularly damaging to us. Usually, I would be fine with daring Samuel Dalembert and Steven Hunter to beat us, but that night they were both hitting shots and were very active on the boards. I think to get a W tonight, we have to minimize their effectiveness.

In our three wins last week, we did a great job sharing the wealth. Josh Smith was tremendous, but we got double-digit scoring from several players in each game, which I think makes us more dangerous. If we can continue to distribute the ball well and do a good job defensively on the interior, I see no reason why we can't win our fourth straight home game for the first time since April of 2003.

Come out tonight to cheer us on. Philly fans typically show up pretty well to Philips, so let's make sure to drown them out and send 'em home unhappy.

See you tonight!

Smith scored a game-high 20 points in Friday's win over Memphis, including the game-winning points on a three-pointer the old fashioned way, putting back an Anthony Johnson miss for a basket and the foul with 11 seconds left.

Saturday he raised it up another notch, pouring in a career-high 32 (on 12-15 shooting from the field) to help lead the team over Minnesota. That's now three straight wins for the Hawks, all without JJ. Ummm, yeah. Didn't see that one coming.

It's interesting. This is not a slight at Joe, who is basically the best basketball player on the planet in these eyes, but the team has, as you may have noticed, a tendency late in games to give Joe the ball and watch what happens. Well, without him on the floor, the Hawks have had to spread the ball around, which makes it much more difficult for other teams to figure out what they are going to do in crunch time. Again, I'd rather have Joe than not, but the current situation is forcing the other guys to make plays they haven't been asked to make in the past.

All of which is to say, I think history will look back on this season as the year that Josh Smith figured out how to play this game. Call it "The Year Smoove Found His Groove". Though he still takes some ill-advised jumpers, he has begun to take his game inside more and more, where his athleticism is nearly unmatched in the NBA. With Joe out, Josh has assumed the Alpha Male role for the foreseeable future and so far is wearing it well.

As for the team's prospects? I'd love to think we can still make a playoff run, but without Joe, even with our recent play, it's still a lot to ask. On the other hand, if the guys can continue to play team ball, who knows? The East is still up for grabs, and thanks to Indiana's freefall, yet another playoff spot is in play now.

I don't know what is going to happen, and it would take a lot more than three straight wins to get us there, but I can tell you this: if Josh Smith keeps it going, we may have meaningful games left this season after all.

Wrapping up for Saturday night in Las Vegas...

The All-Star Saturday night festivities were really fun to see live for the first time ever. The dunk contest was very entertaining and I appreciated the contestants creativity, but it still feels like the show has run it's course.

Here are all the interviews I promised you from earlier today: