David Lee on All-Star team, Smoove (gladly) on the beach
Smoove will be chillaxing like this, except with no uniform and more sand. (dimemag.com)
Dallas– Ever since the All-Star reserves were announced and Smoove didn’t make it, it’s seemed everyone around him has been more outraged about it. Family, friends, fans, media–everyone seems to think Smoove got screwed, except for Smoove.
And it continued that way right up to the All-Star break. After the Hawks lost to the Heat last night, someone asked Smoove if he hoped to be picked as the replacement for A. I., who it turns out won’t play for personal reasons. Commish Stern picked Knicks center David Lee to replace him.
“My flight is booked,” Smoove said, laughing. “I’m really not even thinking about that. I am thinking about sticking my feet in the sand.”
He’s headed to the Turks and Caicos Islands in the West Indies (”First time”). Looking at the snow storm outside my hotel room here in Dallas, I’m thinking Smoove made out in that exchange.
But, for real, he probably did deserve to make the All-Star team. In the one month I’ve covered the team, one thing that has stood out is how Smoove can change a game in so many ways. He’s developed what seems like an instinctive ability to know what play the Hawks need at what time and that’s really a wild statement when you think about it.
The development hasn’t happened by accident.
“I looked a a lot of film of myself over the summer and critiqued myself,” Smoove said, and he discovered he needed to make better decisions within the flow of the game. So it’s interesting to note how Woody later summed up Smoove’s improvement: “He’s making better basketball decisions.”
That’s a hard thing to quantify sometimes. So maybe Smoove was hurt in All-Star voting by coaches because his traditional boxscore stats are nice but don’t really blow you away. But when you look at advanced statistics and Smoove usually comes out ahead in comparison to his teammates and he also looks good when stacked up against the league’s best (also note that Lee is no slouch with those metrics, either).
In considering alternatives to Iso-Joe (and I know you spend a lot of time doing that) two of the best I can think of involve Smoove.
One is the pick-and-roll with Bibby–when the timing is right on it and Smoove gets the pass close enough to the rim that he doesn’t have to dribble too much there aren’t many weakside defenders who can challenge him. (The Hawks tried the P-R early last night but Bibby messed up the spacing and it was a turnover).
The other Iso-Joe alternative is posting Smoove up on the left block for that duck-in, swooping hook move. It can be unstoppable because he’s so long and athletic and he’s gotten really good at gaining separation from his defender with a subtle bump.
Alas, a worldwide television audience and a crowd expected to be upwards of 90,000 won’t get to see Smoove do his thang. But Smoove said he won’t be wishing he was here and probably won’t even watch the game on Sunday.
“I will probably be too busy just chilling,” he said.
MC
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137 comments Add your comment
GeeMack
February 12th, 2010
9:08 am
Daniel
You’re right, and I’m sure other teams feel the way you and Melvin feel, but if they don’t like it shut em up. You notice they were not acting that way during the Magic series last year.
This type of steak comes along once a year, and they are enjoying the moment. I wish the Hawks had the mental toughness to shut em up.
Astro Joe
February 12th, 2010
9:10 am
At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, I’d prefer if the Cavs actually win something before acting like they are the featured act in Cirque de Le Hoops
doc
February 12th, 2010
9:15 am
why would i expect the commish stern to do anything approaching the right thing? next year josh smith makes it easy, maybe his fans can do a drive to get him there. i had faith …. told you so aj … told you. heh heh
glad you have been able to change your opinion about him. i kept saying his winning desire would win out in the end. his attitude was of a winner not a quitter unlike another big man he has been unfairly compared to that played a lot in portland that i loved and was so frustrated with who would quit. josh smith is no sheed.
Techster
February 12th, 2010
9:21 am
When writing stories like this, I think you should work in the word “Smoove” a few more times. The 20 or 30 times it was repeated in this short article just don’t seem quite redundant or annoying enough.
Mike is Back
February 12th, 2010
9:23 am
Crabapple, you got a lot of crabs in your apples bro. It not of question of whether Lee deserves the nod over Josh…he is a deserving player…we seen him play. It is the fact that Hawks fans feel Smoove has performed at All Star level this season, therefore amongst the name that was announce for the reserves…his name should have been call.
CAN DAVID LEE WIN THE SLAM DUNK CONTEST…nough said. Smoooooooooooooooooooove possess some skills David Lee simple do not have…get over it bro.
Astro Joe, nice analogy of Smoove transformation. Woody said he has been the MVP of the team this year…I agree. It will be interesting to see how he comes out in the second half.
GO SMOOVE…AND GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O'Brien
February 12th, 2010
9:50 am
AJ,
The same way that Josh gave up taking them 3s, I hope he takes a look at his jumpers. They have looked much better the last few games, so hopefully it will continue to improve. If not, he needs to stop taking them.
But I have been very pleased with his performace this year. And I’m glad we have him under contract at a good price, because he will only get better.
Cleveland had MVP and COY last year. Where did that get them? They need to wait until they win a championship before they start showboating. And LbJ is the leader. No wonder Noah did not like when LbJ was showing out during the blowout win over the Bulls.
What I want to see next time we play the Cavs is somebody put a hard foul on LeBron. Because the Hawks play too soft sometimes.
GeeMack,
You’re right. If its Boston, we are okay, but ufortunately whenever we get smacked in the mouth by Orlando and Cleveland, we lose our mental focus, and can’t execute anymore.
As for D’Antoni, if the Hawks had a PG who could push the ball and force the tempo, would his system be effective here? Or are we better off with Woody’s system (whatever that is). One thing I like about Woody is he stresses defense and rebounding (although I wish he would stress offense some more).
John
February 12th, 2010
9:51 am
Joe deserves to start in AI’s place now. I have the feeling Van Gundy might let Rondo start. Joe has been there 4 times in a row now and deserves it.
Mike is Back
February 12th, 2010
10:05 am
Doc, ditto on Smoove…it was lean times…but we stuck by him…you can tell things are starting to click.
It will be interesting to see if things finally click for Marvin…maybe it just me…but the last couple games he has really been attacking the rack. That dunk on the fast break where he finished in a crowd of guys with the AND1…That was the first time I seen Marvin finished that play without drawing a offensive foul. Oh well, that is a discussion for another day.
MC, btw I did two tours in Korea back in the early 80s…Camp Irwin and Camp Humphrey. Your story is amazing.
Melvin
February 12th, 2010
10:15 am
This is the Hawks blog and I could careless if folks think David Lee was more deserving. Congrats to David but JSmoove is the man in these parts of the woods. So David Lee can take his all star selection, polish and shine it up then stick it up David Stern candy @$$ for making such a poor decision…
PMC
February 12th, 2010
10:17 am
Josh gets to go to Turks and Caicos and the playoffs…. much better end of the deal here.
crabapplejoe
February 12th, 2010
10:26 am
Davenpoop wrote: “So then how exactly do you determine where to direct your righteous indignation at nicknames being used in newspaper columns?”
There is a bit of a difference….Chipper’s parents call him that…Hopefully “Smoove’s” parents call him Josh. As for ruling out stats as an indicator or worth on the basketball court….I’ll just go with your system which is based upon skin color. Obviously with the selection of “A.I.” that is the system the fans are using…LOL at the hate.
Melvin
February 12th, 2010
10:36 am
crabapple,
Why are you so bother by a beatwriter referring to Josh as JSmoove on a team blog? Heck, his own personal blog page is JSMOOVE.NET. Did you ever thought that he may prefer to be call JSmoove or Smoove?
doc
February 12th, 2010
11:06 am
mikeis, marvin has always played scared, simple enough. his back injury only compounded that mindset. if he outgrows that then maybe he can make a significant contribution. wish we had done a psych profile on him rather than a billy knight butt scan
That guy
February 12th, 2010
11:11 am
Crabapple,
I’m not a big fan of Josh’s nickname either, but he should be in the AS game over Florida Lee. Forget the stats, Smith is a difference maker on a winning team. Stern chose Lee to make sure New York had a presence. Not to say he wasn’t desrving, but playing in New York is the only thing Lee has on Smith.
darrell starks
February 12th, 2010
11:13 am
JSMOOVE IS COOL THERE NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT NAME.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
doc
February 12th, 2010
11:13 am
MC smoove sucks as a power forward, SMASH is much better in what he has to transport only the court. take the smoove crap and wait until his career is over and go into the studio and record something. the smoove stuff got between his ears and held him back in my lowly opinion. not cool for a 18 yr old aspiring to the heights as he does to adopt it. i also believe it is one that led to his misbelief he was ready to shoot the three. look his numbers were not terrible there at about 26% last year but they were unchallenged as everyone wanted him to shoot it from the opposition. kudos for him adapting somewhat this year.also, i am sure the refs that have to listen to his banter laugh at how un-smoove he really is to them. the way they call his game suggests just that.
darrell starks
February 12th, 2010
11:14 am
JOSH SHOULD MADE THE ALLSTAR TEAM.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
Thekid2Kill
February 12th, 2010
11:17 am
Jeff Teague is a big BUST, he gets block everything he takes it to the basket.
Acie Law was better.
Can we trade Teague for Law?
Darren Collison from New Orleans got talent put him in the celtics starting line up and he becomes an all star, I think he might be better than rondo.
doc
February 12th, 2010
11:18 am
MC, in other words maybe he can be j smash on the boards instead of j smash mouth to the refs. get the smoove going when he talks to the refs and he will get his calls. you only have to look at the real smoove guy in lebron as how he smooves the refs. that is the guy he has to be like to get the calls.
Westurd
February 12th, 2010
11:22 am
** ALERT ALERT ** The Hawks are peaking…..the Hawks will not get any better without making a move on some other players. The Hawks are good, about 3rd/4th place good. Doe no one else see it? Championship talk is foolish at this time….dreamerz!
GeeMack
February 12th, 2010
11:24 am
Here’s something that bothers me about the Hawks fans that are all over Woody about the teams performance.
Those individuals never say who they would replace Woody with if they had the opportunity.
UGA
February 12th, 2010
11:27 am
So the Hawks are talking to the Bucks about a deal. Mo and maybe Morris for Kurt Thomas. Do it please? This guy can defend in the post, trust me. Then send something to get Mike Miller or Jarvis Hayes to fill the spot of Mo at SF. This is from the Milwaukee paper.
doc
February 12th, 2010
11:29 am
nire, i argued that one over and over when d’antoni was in phoenix. he was actually as high as 4 or 5 one year when comparing by number of possessions to points scored against is the way i think it went. no one quite got that he did emphasize and have good defenses and defenders along with a hugh powered offense.
in a way we have to do the same types of things in atlanta, rely on the defense to generate points on stops and breakaways rather than points in the lane. we dont really have such an effective set offense. where we dont do it is to generate pressure on defenses by either continuing to push every possession or get good ball movement or personnel movement in a pattern offense. our “offense” numbers look surprisingly good on avg but are a bit deceiving like the defense numbers in d’antoni’s days in phoenix.
Rod from College Park
February 12th, 2010
11:30 am
UGA,
If they make that move they will surely have to get another player at the 3 or the 2 position also. Kurt Thomas?????? I don’t know if that’s enough to change anything.
Edgar Allen Podunk
February 12th, 2010
11:36 am
Wow. Michael Cunningham fella is one hip dude. Y’all know what I’m sayin’?
I mean, anybody who refers to the people he “covers” by their nicknames and their first names is obviously too cool for us mere mortals. Y’all know what I’m sayin’?
Anyway, MC appears to have graduated – Summa Cum LOUD – from the Screamin’ A-hole Smith “school” of journalism, where in-depth and objective analysis take a backseat to “style.”
We get it, MC. You’re “tight” with the Hawks. Heck, I bet “Smoove” even lets you wash his car and walk his dog. You probably sleep in one of his “official” game-worn jerseys.
Of course, it will be interesting to see what happens when it’s time for MC to “act” like a real reporter and write something “bad” about his heroes. Ah, but such are the perils of being a jock-sniffer who masquerades as a “reporter” for a “major” newspaper.
In the meantime, you keep it real, MC.
Y’all know what I’m sayin’?
P.S. Y’all know what I’m sayin’?
doc
February 12th, 2010
11:36 am
been wanting kurt here for four years.
Melvin
February 12th, 2010
11:39 am
Boston may get Butler&Jamison for Ray. Dang it must be nice to have owners willing to spend $$$ to win a championship…
Boneyard Randy
February 12th, 2010
11:41 am
SMOOVE! Enjoy the R&R. And all you haters need to take a deep breath and find something in your life that’ll make you happy. For me, it’s Hawks basketball! Looking forward to the second half.
darrell starks
February 12th, 2010
11:42 am
I never like teague when the hawks drafted him now since he is our guy lets develop him and see what he can do give him time.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!
darrell starks
February 12th, 2010
11:44 am
MELVIN if boston get butler and jamison its over nba champion boston celtics.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
jean
February 12th, 2010
11:48 am
crawford is mvp of hawks by far how he didnt make the all star team is beyond me how many games did he carry the hawks in so far in 4th quarter alot more then the so called franchise player joe johnson
Dominique
February 12th, 2010
11:49 am
Josh Smiff have had a good season. He still need to develop his shooting stroke. I called him “clunk” when Rathbun wasn’t looking. David Lee have good fundamentals and he study hard.
darrell starks
February 12th, 2010
11:49 am
BOSTON PAYROLL 90MILL HAWKS 55MILL.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!
ATL Hawks #1 Lady Fan/Mz. Hawkdafied
February 12th, 2010
12:06 pm
Dang that crabapplejoe guy really loves David Lee. Hey crabapplejoe why don’t you take all that David Lee love over to the NY Knicks blog. By the way you missed a stat. J Smoove leads D. Lee in assists too.
Drop doc off at the Cavs blog on your way. And take Thekid2Kill to the Hornets/Bobcats blog too. Geesh!
Ken Strickland
February 12th, 2010
12:20 pm
CRABAPPLEJOE-When MCUNNINGHAM said you have to look deeper than the stats, he was talking about the situation each player was in when accumulating their stats. DLee plays on a losing team that plays very little DEF, which doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. DLee gets a lot of extra rebounds because he doesn’t have a rebounder like JSmith next to him to get a lot of the rebounds he could be getting.
Bottomline, it’s like Scottie Pippin being selected to the Allstar gm and the top 50 alltime players over a number of SF’s who had better overall stats. It was the intangibles, as well as his all around skills, and the impact he had on his team and the league that made the difference.
That guy
February 12th, 2010
12:21 pm
Jeff Teague a bust? A little soon for that don’t you think?
I think Teague is going to be alright. He gets PT from a coach who is notorious for not playing rookies at all.
As far as the Hawks peaking, I do think they are pretty close to the best we can expect with the current line-up. We need another difference maker in the post to expect more than a second round showing. The Hawks compete well against Cleveland, but can’t win, and Orlando owns them. The difference is Dwight Howard and three 7-footers. Also, they may have swept the Celtics, but if they’re healthy in the playoffs, and/or pull off a trade for Butler and Jamison don’t count on beating them in the playoffs.
The Atlanta Spirit have put together as good a team as I think they are willing to put together. They aren’t in it for a championship. They are intersted in the tax write off, and their bottom line.
When the Hawks have a good owner who is interested in a championship, we Hawks fans will finally be able to wish for me than just an exciting team.
tipsnanny
February 12th, 2010
12:22 pm
I agree with everyone who says it should have been Josh and Crawford. But i’m a big fan of ALL the Hawks players, so i’m excited for Al and Joe also. Now for all the Haters, Josh is one of the best players in the league and most of the losers on the blog won’t even give him credit for his game. In your best dream you couldn’t phantom what it’s like to have his game. So you find fault with his, what a bunch of losers. And for the idiot that has a gripe with everyone calling him Smoove, we call him Smoove because——— we call it like it is.
Ramon
February 12th, 2010
12:27 pm
Darrell, the Hawks are 65 and the Celtics are 85. And 38 mil of Boston is tied up in Pierce and Allen (both making 19 mil a year). Besides the big three, no one else on their roster is making more than 5.8 mil a season. The reason they did so good the other year is because they had a lot of players (including Rondo and Perkins) still on rookie deals, and they also added PJ Brown, Cassell, and a few others for veterans minimum.
O'Brien
February 12th, 2010
12:33 pm
Melvin,
I enjoy reading all the trade rumors this time of year. Unfortunately, most of them dont materialize. But if Boston gets Butler and Jamison, that Hawks would have a tough time against them in the playoffs.
I have a trade question on here. Would you guys be open to the idea of trading Bibby and a couple pieces for Kirk Hinrich? (Hinrich makes $17 mil the next 2 seasons).
Bibby has been a weak link all year, especially when his shot isnt falling. Even though Hinrich is not the shooter Bibby is, his defense is so much better. Our man to man defense would improve dramatically, and our switching would be more effective too. Hinrich’s price tag is expensive though.
Come to think of it, trading Bibby to Chicago might not be a good idea, because he would try and recruit JJ in the offseason.
ATL Hawks #1 Lady Fan/Mz. Hawkdafied
February 12th, 2010
12:41 pm
SMH at these bloggers complaining about the ASG being cheap and yet he/she hasn’t even purchased a ticket to a Hawks game? Now who is being cheap? I don’t blame JJ for calling the Hawks Nation out, Hawks fans suck. You have no loyalty. You want this, you want that. Nothing is free! You want the ASG to spend money, well give them a reason to and bring your cheap butts down to the arena. Have you guys even thought that fan support monetary wise results in more money to spend on players? Obviously not!
ATL Hawks #1 Lady Fan/Mz. Hawkdafied
February 12th, 2010
12:42 pm
I am willing to bet that even if the Hawks were in first in the conference/nba/division you cheapskates still wouldn’t show up. Atlanta Hawks fans suck and I am calling it out. I mean “lets go heat.” in the Highlight Factory, you gotta be kidding me.
doc
February 12th, 2010
12:45 pm
#1 i have long been one of the defenders of josh all along and like him a lot. i also know where he needs to work on his game including the one with the refs. so do many others. i am just not into hero worship you can take that to cleveland as well. josh knows it too and will work on it just like he does the rest of his game. smash the boards, smoove the refs is all i was saying instead of the opposite. yes, he at times would become smoove on the court and it cost him and his teammates. it is just not his game. when he smooves, guarantee, we lose. when he smashes, we win simple equation.
Grandad
February 12th, 2010
12:51 pm
Mr. crabapplejoe:
This being a blog and all, Smoove seems most apropos considering that
you are referring to yourself as ‘crabapplejoe’ unless that is your proper name which if that be the case then I must retract this aforementioned yet lengthy rebuke.
Ramon
February 12th, 2010
12:52 pm
Doc here’s a question for you. Do you wonder why Josh doesn’t try to dunk on more defenders under the rim? Its many times when its clear that who ever is under the goal can’t jump with him, but he still tries to finger roll or another lay up. If Josh tried to dunk more do you think he would get more calls (not to mention more fans). I would venture to say for their height, Josh is probably about the only person in the league who can jump as high as Lebron. But how often do you see Lebron choose to lay it up compared to flushing it on someone.
Astro Joe
February 12th, 2010
1:09 pm
doc, how can I continue to be down on Josh when he has clearly addressed many of his areas that were previously legitimate concerns. To hold a grudge against a guy who has continued to improve would be like holding a grudge against a coach who lost 50+ games previously with a junior high school roster of players.
I’d like to think that my opinion can change as the facts change. Novel, I know.
KevinA
February 12th, 2010
1:10 pm
http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2010/2/12/1307040/the-rick-sund-encounter#storyjump
Sund says.
Goals for the season:
Last year, Sund told me he had two goals for the team. I retold him those goals in my question and was complety off. Good thing that was not embarrassing….
Well, last year they were make the playoffs and have a winning record in that order. Those were the two goals.This year it was “keep the other eleven teams behind us and gain ground on the top three.” I agree, but I want more specifics. I label this part of the interview, “my total wuss out.”
Sund did say both seasons he has been here, the team has gone beyond his expectations. Sounds like if the season continues, Mr. Woodson should expect a contract extension.
So there it is folks. The man has spoken. Expect no trades and closing the gap to the top 3 is good enough. Expect Woody to be resigned. Another reason for no trades is he does not to want to mess with cap flexibility to resign JJ.
D-League:
Sund pointed out that with only 13 men on the roster, he cannot afford the investment in a D-league. Yes, only twelve guys can dress for a game so someone like Teague could go down, but Sund said, with nights like when Jamal was hurt, they need Teague around. That security blanket along with “practicing every day, learning the system, and five to ten minutes of playing time” means Jeff is more valuable on the team than in the D-League.
Yep – it’s all about the money. So please – when talking trades they must be revenue neutral or better.
dashizz357
February 12th, 2010
1:13 pm
Josh should have made it, next season he’ll put his stamp all over all-star weekend…..He’s growing up! way to go….
doc
February 12th, 2010
1:33 pm
yeah aj agree.
wiley
February 12th, 2010
1:34 pm
Nice article…I hope Josh enjoys the time off. Its time for a strong second half. GO Hawks!
Thekid2Kill
February 12th, 2010
1:36 pm
prediction, JJ will embarrass the ATL at the All-Star game he’ll score 5 points.
Al Horford will do OK.
Anyone thinks Stan Van Gundy will put JJ in the starting lineup to replace Iverson?