Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith fined $25,000 for ‘obscene gesture’
The NBA today fined Hawks forward Josh Smith $25,000 for an obscene gesture he made during Atlanta’s 111-102 victory against the Knicks on Friday.
The incident happened after Smith made a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a 105-97 lead with 3:44 to play. Smith made a motion near his groin area as he ran back up the court. Television cameras captured the incident.
It’s the third act of discipline handed out by the league in relation to the game. The league suspended Hawks forward Marvin Williams for two games and Knicks forward Shawne Williams for a game after the players were involved in a fight in the final minute.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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184 comments Add your comment
Rufus1
January 30th, 2011
9:31 pm
Bibby and Jamal…Our 4qt problems begin and end with them
They are also missing WIDE OPEN SHOTS….JJ is getting them good looks, THEY A MISSING THEM, PLAN AND SIMPLE!
Rufus1
January 30th, 2011
9:32 pm
Bibby and Jamal…Our 4qt problems begin and end with them.
All of the other primary players play very solid defense in addition to offering solid offensive skill. Bibby and Jamal are such defensive liabilities, that they put enormous pressure on the team on the offensive end.
LD needs to go with his best defensive team in the 4th Qt, because we are not scoring against good team in the 4th anyway….So even if a player like Teague or Collins is better than Bibby or Jamal, because of defense. I would prefer JJ, Marv, Josh, Al and Collins…Unless they have a super quick PG, I would Take Teague.
YOU CLOSE GOOD TEAMS OUT ON THE DEFENSIVE END…
The Truth
January 30th, 2011
9:54 pm
northcyde
Don’t missed this “set PT allotment with very little derivation except for foul trouble”
IMO LD missed an opportunity to exploit a Dallas weakness with Pavlovic in the game. This is a special situation that required LD to “derivate” from his normal rotation pattern and PT allotment. If Marvin had played, perhaps his normal rotation could have accomplished the same (we will never know). When a starter is out, the coach has to decide on the proper replacement. To me, this falls under the category of proper adjustments based on real-time events. In that case, every coach is unique since every game played is unique. LD in the past has been willing to start Collins and give him more PT for the same reasons I just mentioned. In this game, he just made the wrong moves with his rotations and got checkmated.
The Truth
January 30th, 2011
10:03 pm
Some people play poker better than others
northcyde
January 30th, 2011
10:08 pm
And Collins isn’t good either. Zaza is a much more active player than Collins. Against a scoring low post center, Collins should play before Zaza. But Collins barely gives you anything either, as far as energy and offense.
Updated player efficiency rankings by position ( on hoopsstats.com )
PG: Bibby ( 33rd ) – Teague ( 57th )
G: Johnson ( 6th ) – Jamal ( 21st ) – Damien ( 63rd ) – Jordan ( 76th )
F: Marvin ( 22nd ) – Evans ( 64th )
PF: Smith ( 10th ) – Powell ( 70th )
C: Horford ( 4th ) – Zaza ( 56th ) – Collins ( 75th ) – Etan ( 83rd )
This was the same thing we were seeing last year with our overall talent. Almost nothing is unchanged, other than Jamal not being in the top 15 in SGs.
Some people clamor for some of the reserves to get more playing time. But they’re below average players.
If the top 30 at each position represents starter caliber players . . and 31 – 60 represent 2nd string caliber players . . you see what the problem is with the Hawks.
Incredibly, we only have 8 players that rank in the top 60 at their position. And 6 players who rank 61st or worst at their respective position.
And people wonder why the coach shortens the rotation.
The Truth
January 30th, 2011
10:09 pm
*Some people play chess better than others
northcyde
January 30th, 2011
10:16 pm
And Teague and Zaza barely rank in the top 60 . . so we’re actually dependent on 6 guys. When Jamal doesn’t play well off the bench, the rest of the guys can’t pick up the slack most of the time.
The Truth
January 30th, 2011
10:32 pm
“But Collins barely gives you anything either, as far as energy and offense.”
Agreed, but for some reason, Collins clogs lanes better from a defense prospective that doesn’t show up in the stats sheets. Zaza maybe more active but against active athletic players, he gets eaten alive (how ironic lol).
bigdave
January 30th, 2011
10:35 pm
Al and Jeff are tentative for a reason. both have incomplete games. when you combine that w/ them rarely playing the game outside of their strengths/comfort zones you get that passiveness.
“But Collins barely gives you anything either, as far as energy and offense”
ill take all the things Jason doesnt do to hurt you over what little ZaZa gives you. plus, even though he hasnt seen a block since legos, he’s always a candidate to step up and take a charge.
ZaZa makes me queasy nowadays..
Man Man
January 30th, 2011
10:44 pm
If bibby’s not a starting pg, what is Derek Fisher?He is not the only pg that has defensive flaws.Most of the fast pg’s has a hard time keeping up wit other pg’s so don’t degrate 1 player without degrating them all.
Josh has a bad attitude how?Because he complains about getting fouled?How many other players do this?Com’on man.If you trade josh you loose most your fans.He does more than anyone on a night-to-night basis,then people want pick on his flaws.every basketbball players has flaws.Yall sitting up here talkin bout this man because he’s trying to expand his game?He has improved his outside shot much this year and it shows so sometimes i don’t know what yall talking bout.Half the time he be wide open talking those shots.You don’t pass up open shots
Najeh Davenpoop
January 30th, 2011
10:45 pm
“ill take all the things Jason doesnt do to hurt you over what little ZaZa gives you. plus, even though he hasnt seen a block since legos, he’s always a candidate to step up and take a charge.”
Exactly. Collins doesn’t give you a lot in the stat sheet, but he plays good position defense, understands his limitations, and is long enough that even if he just stands there with his arms in the air he can make it tougher for people to come down the lane and score over him. You’re not going to get negative plays with Collins.
Zaza on the other hand is pretty much a walking negative play. It’s either an illegal screen, or a blocked shot, or getting the ball stripped, or failing to draw iron on a wide open layup with him. He pretty much runs the entire range of negative plays possible. At this point if I was Joe and I saw him wide open under the hoop I wouldn’t even really feel comfortable passing him the ball. And the one thing at which Zaza is supposedly good — rebounding — isn’t even something he does fundamentally well or something at which he excels.
I really can’t think of anything positive Zaza provides to the Hawks right now. If he can go five possessions without causing a turnover or blowing an easy scoring opportunity, it’s a victory for the Hawks.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 30th, 2011
10:50 pm
Just because you are “active” doesn’t mean you deserve minutes. Mario West was “active” but he had no discernible basketball skills and was a foul machine. Zaza may be “active”, but he doesn’t use his big body to alter shots or establish rebounding position on defense, and can’t convert scoring opportunities inside on offense. Just being a bull in a china shop isn’t a good enough reason for someone to get minutes.
If the Hawks need someone to p-ss off Kevin Garnett in the playoffs, put Zaza in. Otherwise, nail his ass to the bench and give Collins his minutes.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 30th, 2011
11:02 pm
PER is notorious for underrating players who play good defense without racking up steals and blocks anyway. Bruce Bowen routinely ranked very low in efficiency even though he was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.
Zaza has a lower true shooting percentage than Collins and has the highest turnover percentage on the entire team. He has a much higher rebound percentage, but we all know from watching him that a big chunk of his boards come from rebounding his own misses.
Collins should be the first big man off the bench when the Hawks start the small lineup, and Marvin should be the first big man off the bench when the Hawks start the big lineup. Etan Thomas should be the next guy behind those two, in the unfortunate event the Hawks need to go that deep. In the absence of a bench big man who can regularly come in and provide positive contributions both in and out of the stat sheet, I’ll take the guy who will provide positive contributions outside of the stat sheet and won’t make mistakes.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 30th, 2011
11:18 pm
Its Actual and Factual!
northcyde
January 30th, 2011
10:08 pm
_____________________
Simply Brilliant and Fantastic Post!
What else is there to say? A real blogger can see The Coach’s dilema.
When in Vegas – You play the odds TO WIN! Or? Come Post Season, you will be:
GONE FISHIN’ – period.
______________________
Aye … Iconic Bloggers!
“Be careful who you let rent space in your head.”
- Admiral Thad Allen -
SteveW
January 30th, 2011
11:23 pm
Some quotes from Hoopinion, one of my favorite NBA sources:
“Mike Bibby’s first stint in the game lasted four minutes and eight seconds. During that time DeShawn Stevenson scored two of Dallas’s 10 points and assisted on six others. The first quarter witnessed not just Stevenson matching his season high in assists for a game but Stevenson creating open looks for Dirk Nowitzki. Such a display throws into question the very existence of someone Mike Bibby could successfully guard but, when Rick Carlisle went to a backcourt of Jason Terry with either Jose Juan Barea or Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki as his forwards, in the fourth quarter there was no one on the court Mike Bibby could successfully guard.
The Hawks have been outscored 85-48 over their last three fourth quarters. Mike Bibby has played 27:22 of those fourth quarters during which he has scored three points on five shots, earned one assist, and grabbed two defensive rebounds. Clearly, the need for Larry Drew to “see more production” exists on a case-by-case basis.” (Referring to Jeff Teague)
SteveW
January 30th, 2011
11:26 pm
Some more Hoopinion about the Dallas game:
“With Smith disqualified and Al Horford appearing seriously fatigued after having played more than 45 minutes the previous night, Drew made the reasonable (but also telling from a depth and roster construction perspective) decision to insert Damien Wilkins into the game to guard Dirk Nowitzki. Less reasonable and absolutely indefensible? The decision to have the Hawks begin switching ball-screens so that Dallas could get Jamal Crawford defending Nowitzki in the post whenever they wished.”
SteveW
January 30th, 2011
11:28 pm
And some more Hoopinion:
” – Jeff Teague looked really good playing with some starters in the second quarter and late in the third, less good playing alongside Crawford, Evans, Powell, and Pachulia at the start of the fourth quarter.
– The Hawks being -7 in the 7:15 Josh Powell played upon his re-emergence from suspension and inaction was all too predictable but, ooohhh, put-backs.
– In their last two road games, the Hawks have been outscored by 31 points and lost both to a team missing three starters through injury and a team that released a starter immediately following the game.”
SteveW
January 30th, 2011
11:31 pm
And one more from Hoopinion, insightful:
“The 13-point fourth quarter* was nothing about which the Atlanta Hawks can or should be proud but with the 15-point fourth quarter debacle in Milwaukee still less than a week old an impotent offensive performance in which missing open shots shared culpability with poor ball movement doesn’t seem as dire as Atlanta’s defensive performance in the fourth quarter in Dallas.
*The nadir was clearly the sight of the Hawks, coming out of a timeout with 2:14 left in the game, completely flummoxed by the Dallas zone they’d played against for much of this game and a fair amount of their previous meeting (but not on the previous possession…tricky, Rick Carlisle, very tricky), passing the ball around the perimeter until Joe Johnson could hold it, back up, and take a contested 28-footer from the right sideline with the shot clock winding down.
The short explanation for Atlanta’s fourth quarter defensive performance would be that Larry Drew had 60 minutes of individual minutes to allocate in the fourth quarter and 39% of them went to Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford, and Josh Powell. Sufficient though that fact might be to illustrate Drew’s priorities, it fails to tell the full picture of ineptitude”.
Harpie
January 30th, 2011
11:57 pm
Josh and Drew are the ruination of this team!!!!
SteveW
January 31st, 2011
12:02 am
Just looking at who we traded on draft day – Damian James has only played 17 games for the Nets.
And we looked at Dominique Jones with the Mavs, who went #25. He also has only played 25 games to JC2’s 15 games. So none of the the guys we traded or looked at have done any thing.
Landry Fields on the other hand….But I’m still glad we got Jordan. Been lookin at his profile on DraftExpress – Good spot up shooter, and good leaper.
Teague on the other hand it said he was a good driver. Inteesting
Next season should be really interesting with these 2, and Pape Sy who’s finally looking decent in DLeague.
SteveW
January 31st, 2011
12:03 am
Dominique Jones has only played 17 games above post should read….
slimjr
January 31st, 2011
12:42 am
The Hawks are 28th in rebounding,just brutal…….
Sund=fail 31 years and counting……………………………………………………………………………………..
northcyde
January 31st, 2011
1:28 am
@ Man Man
But we don’t care about Derek Fisher. We care about Bibby and Teague.
By the way, Fisher ranks #41 amongst PGs and has played horribly offensively and defensively this year.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 31st, 2011
3:27 am
Where is The Logic?
The NBA has fined Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers $15,000 for failing to promptly leave the court after his ejection during a loss Friday to the host Phoenix Suns.The Celtics were tagged with six technical fouls during the 88-71 defeat and Rivers and forward Kevin Garnett were ejected. Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins also registered technicals after a fourth-quarter dust-up between Garnett and Phoenix’s Channing Frye. ESPN.com
Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Coaching | share 
Asked about how what precipitated the first technical, Rivers told reporters: “”[Javie] actually came into our huddle. We were standing there, he came up to us. I’ll tell you exactly what was said. He said, ‘You guys are complaining way too much.’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s make the right calls.’ And his answer back was, ‘I’ll make a call for you.’ And that’s how I got the tech.” ESPN.com
__________________________________________
Crotch Grabbing 25K
Complaining 15K
Hitting below the Belt? Priceless.
If a Boxer – Hits Below The Belt? Disqualified & Match Forfeited.
______________________________
Aye Stern? Where is the LOGIC?
drmaryb (*_*)
January 31st, 2011
4:56 am
Complaint Department!
Besides Josh, maybe the Hawks and Drew don’t complain nearly enough.
4 HOF’ ers and they all complain incessantly, maybe that’s how you get the calls and win championships.
Just sayin’
__________________
Boy do I have insomnia this morning. Doing medical billing and typing patient narratives. Deadlines and Procrastination’ s …. SMDH.
terrell
January 31st, 2011
8:06 am
Could you imagine if we woulda let Joe walk, and inserted Jamal as the new starting 2 guard? A lot of bloggers actually wanted that to happen. Hilarious. I like Jamal and all(sometimes), but he’s not your average Joe.
terrell
January 31st, 2011
8:10 am
Hell, at least Collins knows how to set a screen WITHOUT MOVING, and can actually catch a pass without fumbling it out of bounds. Please! Zaza = the BIG stiff.
hawks_4_life
January 31st, 2011
8:12 am
Terrell
I agree, I think we should trade him for a big man that can contribute. Right now until the trade deadline is when his value to the team is highest. No way we resign him in the offseason anyway. Wilkens would be suitable replacement, better defense even though we would lose offensive production.
terrell
January 31st, 2011
8:13 am
Toronto we should beat, but the Clippers are playing better, the Wizards are playing better, and the Sixers are playing better. We might get caught slipping.
Trojan
January 31st, 2011
8:23 am
We are being out coached in every game lately. And other coaches are making it look easy.
Is Rick Sund comatose?
terrell
January 31st, 2011
8:26 am
Reasonable ASG trade:
Jamal, Zaza, and a 1st for TJ Ford, Duntay Jones, Jeff Foster
They get another scorer to help out Granger, a backup to Hibbert, and a 1st rd pick.
We get a scoring pg, a defensive specialist, and a productive big.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 31st, 2011
8:46 am
terrell (don’t call me Te-Relle)
Silly trades reall irks, but I must admit that one there makes a lot of sense and seems very doable. Wish you could get Sund to answer the phone and listen.
We have to try and do something. We shall see?
_____________________
Have a nice day fellas, I gotta’ go pay some bills.
slimjr
January 31st, 2011
8:56 am
Is Rick Sund comatose?
That is an interesting question?????
Have a great day drmaryb (*_*)
slimjr
January 31st, 2011
9:03 am
Sund is heading into the playoffs as 5 or 6 seed with a peashooter and will shoot nothing but blanks……LOL…
Ramon
January 31st, 2011
9:07 am
Here is a question. The Lakers seem as if they are going to make a under the radar deal before the season is over. Would anyone be for attempting to trade Marvin and Etan (or Powell) for Artest? A front line of Artest, Josh, and Al sounds pretty solid defensively right?
slimjr
January 31st, 2011
9:09 am
@ Ramon
2headcases(Artest and Josh)?? Dont think so………
Ramon
January 31st, 2011
9:16 am
Slim, Josh is far from a head case. And also, look how many head cases are in the Celtics locker room. Look how many head cases used to be in the Knicks locker room in the 90s (and the Heat).
slimjr
January 31st, 2011
9:39 am
Okay, but at least the Knicks competed for 2 championships in the mid 90’s. These Hawks never will as presently configured even adding Artest to the mix wont get them to the promise land…
Scottie, jettison the core..Make it so………………….Start Jeff Teague yesterday…………………
darrell starks
January 31st, 2011
9:52 am
Why do LD continue not 2 starte collins and finish playing in the late 4th quarter is ludacris to me, bibby an jamal in the back court at the same time late in the game is so retarted that LD is hurting the team with his way of thinking.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
JoJo the Godfather
January 31st, 2011
9:53 am
terrell…i’m not sure about that indy trade…foster & ford are free agents, so we’re giving up two valuable assets (jamal’s expiring & a 1st round pick) for the only long-term asset of dahntay jones…i’d probably pass on that one.
darrell starks
January 31st, 2011
9:55 am
JAMAL, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, COLLINS, SHOULD END THE GAME EVERY NIGHT.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
January 31st, 2011
9:58 am
DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
SLAM ONLINE | » Josh Smith’s ‘Obscene Gesture’ Costs Him $25,000
January 31st, 2011
10:01 am
[...] pocket is a little lighter following what the League deemed an “obscene gesture” made on Friday night. From the AJC: “The NBA [Sunday] fined Hawks forward Josh Smith $25,000 [...]
hawks_4_life
January 31st, 2011
10:09 am
Darrell Starks
You say defense but still mention Jamal, dude couldnt guard his own shadow. Granted he can shoot lights out but if he is off then what. Atleast Bibby tries to no avail and if he is off wont shoot long jumpers killing momentum.
JoJo the Godfather
January 31st, 2011
10:28 am
Blockbuster of the day between Hawks & Pistons…Hawks send Bibby, Marvin, Pachulia, Jamal & Mo Evans to Detroit for Rip, Prince, Wallace & Bynum.
Hawks gain major flexibility…They can end games with Rip, Joe, Prince, Josh & Al…Rip still defends smaller guards very well, and Joe & Prince can bring the ball up the floor…Insert Teague or Bynum for Rip or Prince to play faster…Insert Wallace or Collins for Prince to play bigger…Wilkins as a wing defender off the bench…Jo Craw for instant offense off the bench.
SteveW
January 31st, 2011
10:38 am
JoJo – That trade may work, but I don’t see Sund blowing up this team just yet. Josh not a head case? Depends on the definition.
SteveW
January 31st, 2011
10:41 am
I would not be surprised to see some kind of trade with Sacremento however. Sund is a vulture, and if the right deal came along, I could see him biting.
ZaZa’s value – Against the Celts you have Shaq 320, Kendrick 285, Big Baby 285, and even Jermaine O’Neal at 265. Our only guy over 260 is ZaZa @ 275. Then Etan 260 and Collins 255. Gotta keep ZaZa as frustrating as he is many times.
SteveW
January 31st, 2011
10:43 am
Kings are dangling Udrih, Dalembart, and Thompson out there to see if there are any takers. They only want cheap youth or expiring contracts in return. I don’t know if I would want Udrih or not. Thompson yes. Dalembert at 13m? Not so much.
Section 303
January 31st, 2011
11:10 am
SteveW, if Dalembart was not making $13-million, I would love to have him.
Was reported/rumored that Kings offered Thompson for Teague this summer. Hawks, obviously, passed. Wonder if they would pass again if that deal were on the table now.
Teague did play well on Saturday. I guess that makes me wrong to say there is no hope at all with Teague. He just has to do the hard part now and build upon his good outting against the Mavs. I go from 0% hope with Teague, 9% hope on Teague being a player in the league.
O'Brien
January 31st, 2011
11:17 am
I think Twin should get more of ZaZa’s PT. This was how the fourth quarter started against the Mavs;
Zaza Pachulia was called for a three-second violation . Two possessions later, guard Jamal Crawford lost the ball trying to split a double team. Pachulia missed from seven feet. Pachulia got his shot blocked.
The only thing missing was an illegal screen. So ZaZa was involved (negatively) on 3 of the Hawks first 6 possessions in the fourth.
For every one positive play we get from ZaZa, he gives us 3 negative plays, which puts in the whole.
Collins might not give us any positive plays, but he wont give us any negative plays either, so we at least break even with him in the game (imo). And he uses his size well. I dont know what ZaZa does…