Atlanta Hawks: Larry Drew to Josh Smith: About those jump shots . . .

MC,

Ask LD when his meeting with Marvin will be. He needs to ask him if he plans on becoming a professional basketball player anytime soon.

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For the love of God Josh, please listen to you coach!!! You team & city need the Josh Smith that showed up about midway through the 3rd in Game 2.
P.S. – They cant guard you in the paint…… Take advantage!!

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Josh is still winding up to take that long 3 from wednesday night….

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Also MC,

LD is kind of talking in circles here. Because you can clearly see from ALOT of the plays that he calls, he does not tend to put Josh on the blocks in the scheme of the play. So I think LD, as the play designer, needs to specifically make Josh’s spacing on the blocks and near the paint.

The reason I say this is because Josh is hardly ever improperly spaced during a play, or not “where he supposed to be”. I just think LD has got the wrong people in the wrong positions alot of the time, allowing Josh to be the one with those open perimeter looks. Why not have Joe, Marvin, Jamal, or any other shooters spaced where Josh is standing?

You hardly ever see Chicago with Boozer and Noah spaced on the perimeter within the design of their plays. You do see it with Al and Josh too often for my tastes.

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“Something told me to leave him in there, kind of let him see if he could play through it, and he did exactly that”

Yeah that sure was LD’s mentality with Bibby, when Bibby put up sh*tty nights and played no defense

NO accountability

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hi you guys,i live in england,watched 2 games in the play offs up to now ,yep we lost em both.game 2 vs orlando and game 2 vs the bulls.now the problem is ,game 3 is live on espn in englasnd tonight ,do i watch it or jinx the team or do i go to bed seein they r on tv in early hours of the morning over here

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I hope Marvin Williams is not starting tonight…..

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““Something told me to leave him in there, kind of let him see if he could play through it, and he did exactly that”

Yea and lose the ball game..LD now I see why you were an assistant coach for almost 20 yrs….sigh….

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word on the street Sund tried to shop Marvin before the trade deadline, but there were no takers for this buster……………………

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Slimjr,

NJN wanted Marvin in a Devin Harris deal, but we refused.

LOL!!!!!

CAN WE PLEASE SEND ZAZA IN TO COMMIT SOME HARD FOULS? STOP BEING SOFT

FOUL BOOZER HARD. THE GUY IS HURT. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PHYSICAL. JOSH DOESN’T EVEN BODY HIM UP. HE JUST JUMPS FOR THE REBOUND. NO BOXING OUT

CAN THE STAFF NOT SEE THIS

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Oh okay JeJe,did not hear one…wow..LOL..

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way to respond Josh.. you could clearly see the change of mentality which had an immediate impact on the game. come out the gate w/ that focus.. we need that!

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@Slimjr
The Hawks have never shopped Marvin, if they did teams would be breaking down the wall to get him out of ATL…
@JeJe
Who should i listen too? This is very hard, lets see, a coach with a ring, who just won COY, or a guy who calls his self “JeJe”?..everyone knows that Marvin has never played in a real NBA “Offense”..and everyone seen how the guy produced when given more shots while the 120 mill man was hurt..go right ahead and trade him to play Josh “Jumpshot” Smith at the 3..It will make the Hawks look worse than trading away future star jordan Crawford away for Kirk Hinrich..

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biggest hawks game ever right here today!!! going to try and get there early today. LET’S GO HAWKS!

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@No Woody for Me

So you want Josh to miss shots from point blank range and try to intimidate the refs into giving him the call by screaming bloody murder? How is that an improvment?

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Enter your comments here

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Josh doesn’t have the form to ever be a great shooter. That is why he was so bad at free throws early on in his career. He has always taken the ball too far back over his head. The great shooters never lose sight of the ball when shooting. The ball always stays in front of them. Not Josh, he cranks the rock back over his head and loses that connection of ball & basket. He only relies on feeling where the ball is. That is why he breaks down when the stress goes up. Problem is he is too stubborn to listen to anybody for help…at least that is how it appears to me. Hey I could be wrong, I’m just a fan…

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Give me a break, his shooting percentage is inflated due to shooting a decent percentage early in the season (no pressure) and the fact that other teams want him to shoot so they play softer defense on him outside. He has absolutely no head for the game, I don’t understand why it is said he is such a great athlete (takes more plays off than any one else so perhaps he looks fresher). The only plus I see is really good timing on blocking shots when he is in the mood. His game is garbage and sadly the rest of the league can see this lessening any trade value. The only hope is that some coach and GM with an inflated ego’s will believe a change of scenery will cause the real player in him to emerge. As for me I can hardly even watch the game when he is on the floor not hustling, taking the worst shot or making the worst turnover at the most crucial time, and blaming ever one of his errors on the refs. The team would be far better without him, he is a loser.

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Hey Rod,

Nothing like a Josh related article to bring Marvin to the table!!!

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First, I think we’ll win tonight with big games from Al, Josh & Pachulia. Boozer, Noah, Thomas & Gibson have thrown down the guantlet with their rebounding performance in game 2. Our bigs will answer in game 3.

Question for the Blog: Did the Knicks pick up Billups’s option for next year? I was thinking the deadline just passed. I’ve still got my hopes up for a Joe Johnson/Chauncey Billups swap this summer.

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I wrote in another blog,

Josh has two major flaws in his shooting form as the blogger above has stated he places the ball outta line of sight!!!! The brain must see the ball at all times in relationship to the rim since it is making constant calculations and storing that info for instant recall when he decides to launch the shot..
His other major flaw is the release of the shot, his middle finger on the shooting hand must be pointing straight at the basket on the follow through…Think of the face of a clock, the rim is at the 12 0′clock position…His finger is pointing at the 10 o’clock position…This stuff should have been corrected in middle school..Its kind of too late now to teach the correct way because hes already pre-wired at 25-26 year old…It explains why he has so much difficulty getting his shots to fall from distance and around the basket…He also rushes to put it up and is not set in his foot work…But his teammates throw fuel on the fire by handing the ball to him with the clock running down so he has to launch it quickly…

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What a bunch of crap from LD & Josh. You will see the same coach & player tonight in game 3. Leopards do not change their spots.

Josh has not just started taking bad shots. He has been doing it all season. Coach Drew has not addressed it all season, so what makes it different now. Oh yeah the FAN BASE is noticing it too!

Both of these guys specialize at post game comments . Their basketball IQ is off the charts after the game is over.. They will say what you want to hear…show me you have this knowledge base during the game. Make the adjustments in stride, LD needs to coach & manage the game & Josh needs to understand…good shot/bad shot, shot clock management, time & situation….What does my team NEED now!!!! If we are up 9 points we may not need you to shoot that Open by Design 3 pointer. Get a mismatch go to the paint! Get rebound give it to a GUARD and RUN the Floor! You get Fouled, don’t stay & talk to the 65 year old ref, get BACK on DEFENSE, even if you were fouled!
If you are not back we LOSE our defensive ANCHOR.

BASICALLY JOSH, WE NEED YOUR AZZ IN THE PAINT on OFFENSE & DEFENSE!!!!

IF YOU NEED A FORMULA OR FLASH CARDS TO UNDERSTAND YOUR ROLE HERE IT IS:

IF you are on the PERIMETER = J-Stupid and IF you are in the PAINT = J-Smart

DISREGARD EVERYTHING ELSE including J-Smoove….just be JOSH!!

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Why should we expect Josh to change when the coach is not strong enough to say, “do what you should or else….”?

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it was not a bad pick

GTFOH already. I can’t tell if you are just some joke meant to bring humor or are actually serious.

MARVIN HAS BEEN IN THIS LEAGUE 6 YEARS. HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING

You are a serious idiot with no intellectual capacity. Saying Marvin will be a shining star in this league is a manifestation of your ignorant state of mind.

Just leave this place already

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I hope LD will at least try some Etan to throw on Boozer and Noah. He’s 6 hard fouls and usually some energy at least.

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SteveW

Etan is not needed in this series. We are not playing D12. The Hawks being out hustled, thats fixable Noah & Boozer are overwhelming figures. Our lack of hustle is the reason we only won 44 games this year.

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I was one of the people in Philips last year yelling “NO” every time he took a shot, but I defended his shooting throughout this regular season because he was converting them at a reasonable rate. I don’t have a problem with the jumpers, generally speaking, if the conversion rate is respectable. In the playoffs, though, his jumper has been abysmal, and he needs to adjust accordingly. A playoff game is not the time for him to try to shoot himself out of a slump.

I agree with LD that Smoove tried to do too much in Game 2, and it’s really just a culmination of how he has played throughout the playoffs. He’s been trying to ratchet up the intensity and in doing so is playing out of control. Calm down Smoove.

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Astro Joe:

I agree wholeheartedly!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hawks win with no problem tonight if: Josh gets 10+ rebounds and takes no 3s…Horford gets 10+ rebounds and plays big…No dribble dribble dribble shoot/pass from JJ…No break somebodys ankles and take a bad shot without even looking to pass from Crawford…LD lets Teague keep playing his game…Everybody else focus on 50-50 balls and hustle plays…

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“Can Marvin give you 15-25 per night if he played 40 mins????

Ans..Heck to the NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONNO………….”

I would guess that at least 75% of the players in the league can give you 20 per night if they played 40 minutes and got enough shots. The question is whether those players can get you 20 per night and win at the same time. My guess is a team that gives Marvin that big of a role ends up with about 25 wins.

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Nice article/post Michael. Hopefully Smoove takes Boozer to the woodshed tonight.

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Let me try and wrap my mind around this again:

If LD would have been utilizing Teague properly, we would:

Have Bibby fresh coming off the bench for 3’s

Have Mo’ as an option to put on Deng and Korver

Have JC2 to have some athleticism to put on Rose and the SG’s as well

And a #18 pick in the upcoming draft, with a guy in Pendegraft who actually looks like he can draft; Teague at #19 and Jordan Crawford at #27 along with a late 2nd round Pape Sy.

But instead we have an injured Hinrich, and a DNP guy in Hilton

LD has already cost this organization so much, he needs to win a championship to make up for it!

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Explain to me how JJ lost the game being double and triple teamed? I gotsta know, lol.

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No body can guard josh in the NBA at the 3 in the post, LD sit your boy marvin on the bench and stop drinking his grape cool aid.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Geemack – I know your point. I’m just saying since Al is gassed playing so many minutes, and he’s not built for that, Etan’s not a bad 4-6 minute guy to come in and wreak some havoc. He’s got it in him to do that. We may not have seen it, but it is in him. Guy was good back before the open heart and knee blowout.

They say he’s fully recovered. If he can just give us a few minutes of what he’s done in the past, he’ll be worth the vet minimum.

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SteveW no body play as harder on this team than COLLINS, ZAZA and now TEAGUE.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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From the previous blog:

“TRADE HINRICH FOR RASHAD LEWIS AND I THINK THIS TEAM CAN WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP”

LOL, this must be an agenda via the Wizards

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 – President George W. Bush

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At least Collins may box out on Noah while he’s in there.

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SteveW,

In the question, I am asking would you rather our best players (Joe, Josh, Jamal) lose taking bad shots, but trying to take them, or us playing good solid basketball like Horford and Marvin, and never taking any risk, or force any bad shots. We all know that we would not win a playoff game with Teague, Collins, Zaza, and Wilkens playing heavy minutes.

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gave up way too much for the Heimlich Maneuver..We should of at least got JaVale McGee!

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Najeh,

I suggested the same thing earlier in the season. Bring Josh off the bench as a Lamar Odom type of player instead of starting him at SF. But can you imagine LD having that conversation with Josh? It would not go over well, and who knows how Josh would handle it.

Although Al wants to play PF, I think he is better at Center, so I think the Hawks will have to choose between him and Josh at some point.

Mark Bradley also wrote about Josh this morning.

And now you were asking, not for the first time or even the hundredth: How good would Josh Smith be if he never took a shot beyond the lane? If he could content himself with being, say, Paul Silas? (Who was a great player on championship teams, let’s recall.) Put another way, has there ever been a less effective jump shooter who persists in taking jump shots?

Josh Smith has it within him to be an All-Star, and he was very close to being one in 2010. He had cut back on the jump shots and, in the words of former coach Mike Woodson, had come to “understand time and score.” But to see Smith now is to view a clear regression, if not so much in scoring numbers than in impact..

http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2011/05/05/a-significant-hawks-question-what-is-josh-smith-doing/

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Is Josh Smith closer to Gerald Wallace skillset and frame or is he closer to Tim Duncan

ok just checking. Marvin or Josh needs to sit for the sake of Collins/Pachulia if we are to make the ECF. Oh well

We are playing Josh Smith at center, we deserve to lose to this hobbled vulnerable Bulls team.
gochickenHAwks!

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Slimjr

May 6th, 2011
10:38 am
word on the street Sund tried to shop Marvin before the trade deadline, but there were no takers for this buster……………………

Who with any sense would want Marvin? He can’t play because he doesn’t exert any effort. Just look at the tattos now covering his body. His mind is somewhere else. Crawford is just as bad tatto-wise, but at least the man does somethin gon the court other than nothing….

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scodee23 we don’t need a Point Guard in the draft. HELLO we have Teague!!!

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Slimjr- there is no way that Washington is giving up MaGee. I seriously doubt that we could give them Josh and get him.

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I don’t think Josh would get shopped for a draft pick. I think the Hawks would be looking for a second or third year player that has somewhat proven himself in the league already. Steph Curry’s name seems to come up a lot. I guess Josh for Curry & Biedrins is the rumor I’ve seen the most.

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Charley Rosen from msn.foxspots on Josh’s performance in game 2:

“On the other hand, Smith had only himself to blame for his abysmal 4-of-14, four-turnover performance. That’s because he forced a total of eight shots/passes/drives, with most of his turnovers being of the unforced variety. Smith remains the most underachieving super talent in the league.”

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@Phil,

may I impart a word of advise to you? Never, never judge a book by its cover…
Your Maker don’t care if your azz is vanilla or mocha..Love covers a multitude of sins.. ..Have a great day.

kick butt tonight HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I suggested years ago that Josh is more like AK-47… someone who should come off the bench and bring energy and his specific game-altering abilities to the court. There is little doubt that on a more talented team (and a true title contender), Josh would be the AK-47/Lamar Odom type 6th man who does a little of everything. But on our team, he is the guy who fans come to see exclusively and therefore needs to be cuddled excessively. Nothing short of a playoff meltdown across consecutive seasons would change folks’ opinions. Oops, never mind…

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Are Bulls better off without Booz?

With an injury hindering Carlos Boozer, the question must be asked

By Melissa Isaacson
ESPNChicago.com
NBA Tonight Bulls Hawks Gm. 3 Preview

VIDEO PLAYLIST 

Tim Legler and Kevin Connors preview Game 3 between the Bulls and Hawks

NBA Tonight Bulls Hawks Gm. 3 Preview

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Chicago, NBA, playoffs, video

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Bulls Thursday Practice

Should Fans Be Down on Boozer?

There are those who would say it is unfairly picking on Carlos Boozer or focusing too much on his contract to suggest that he has not been the player the Bulls hoped for when they signed him to a five-year, approximately $80 million deal last July.

Horace Grant doesn’t care about any of that. Glued to his TV and the NBA playoffs while rocking his newborn daughter, he just knows what he sees. And what he sees from the guy playing his old position and wearing John Paxson’s old number … well, let’s just say it’s a good thing there’s a baby around to keep him calm.

“This is a time when stars shine and they’re paid all that money to step up,” Grant said. “I watched the Lakers last night, and just from a fan standpoint and someone who played the game for many nights, Pau Gasol has to step up also.”

[+] Enlarge

For Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, it’s very simple.

“This is the time of the year you go,” he said. “If you’re injured, you don’t. If you’re hurting, you go.”

Boozer is no doubt hurting. Turf toe is a swelling of the tendons and, say those who have had it, is indeed painful.

“It’s one of those things, when you just say a toe, it doesn’t sound like much,” Bulls teammate Luol Deng said. “But it’s an annoying injury.”

Dennis Wierzbicki/US Presswire

Carlos Boozer has been ineffective for most of the playoffs.

An injury.

The question is whether the Bulls are better off with an injured Boozer on the floor or not. This season, the Bulls went 15-8 (.652) without him in the lineup.

Maybe the question should be what kind of a team have the Bulls been with Boozer in the lineup this postseason?

Technically speaking, they have been a 5-2 team, which isn’t bad. But for all of those blessed with the gift of sight, it hasn’t always been good, either. Boozer has shot 38.2 percent and is averaging 10.3 points per game. But that’s not what has fans such as Grant dissatisfied.

Boozer has been slow or nonexistent on defensive rotations and arguably soft inside despite getting called twice for defensive 3-second violations. Offensively, he has been unable to finish strong at the basket and he has not been solid in setting picks for Derrick Rose.

“Maybe it’s old school, but you set a pick so that your guard or small forward can get to the hole or shoot a jump shot. You should be secondary,” Grant said. “It’s team first, and the first option is setting a good, strong pick. With a body like [Boozer's], you should be able to do some things, and he has shown in the past he can do this.”

Thibodeau said Thursday that the Bulls need Boozer in the lineup.

“His rebounding is critical for us,” he said. “His post presence. People collapse on him so it opens up a lot of things for everybody. So he has to keep doing what he’s doing. Each day will get better and better.”

In his living room, Grant is like many of you, calling for Taj Gibson. Of course, realistically this isn’t going to happen. Teams just don’t change up their starting lineup and bench their $80 million free agent in the middle of the playoffs.

For all Thibodeau knows — and he probably does know — this could render Boozer even less effective than he already is. Besides that, it is more important who finishes games than who starts. And in the Bulls’ Game 2 victory Wednesday night, Gibson played a minute longer than Boozer in the fourth quarter, relieving him at the 4:02 mark with the Bulls up by six and staying in the remainder of the game.

In Utah, the late Jazz owner Larry Miller once publicly criticized Boozer’s defensive effort, after which Boozer developed what the media called a “mysterious” foot injury in 2005. In his second season with the Jazz, he missed 49 games with a hamstring injury.

And in his final season in Utah, Boozer drew the fans’ ire when he sat out the final regular-season game with a strained oblique muscle as Phoenix defeated Utah, costing the Jazz the No. 2 seed.

So now he’s apparently trying to tough it out, and it’s no wonder why. And if there was any hesitation, it sounds like Thibodeau’s message is clear.

“He’ll get better in time but all these guys have something, whether it’s an ankle, a toe, a wrist, a shoulder,” Thibodeau said. “That’s the way it is this time of year, and you have to get through all that stuff. But every team has the same issues. So we just have to be mentally tough, physically tough and whatever the challenge is in front of us, handle it.”

In other words, just get out and do what you’re being paid to do, which is more than pick up 10 rebounds a game (two offensive).

ESPNChicago.com Bulls blog

The latest news from Bulls reporter Nick Friedell. Blog

“He knows what he has to do,” Thibodeau said almost hopefully. “This guy has scored his whole career. He’ll score for us.”

More coverage: Bulls Playoff Center

With a young team such as the Bulls, however, it’s not likely that anyone is pressuring Boozer.

“Back in the day, Boozer wouldn’t have lasted. Seriously,” Grant said. “If you missed your defensive assignment, OK, you missed it. But if you continued to miss it, you would hear not just from Phil [Jackson] but from MJ, Scottie or myself.

“We got in Scottie’s face a couple times — ‘You need to get over there, man, what’s wrong?’ Derrick Rose is a leader but you can’t put that on him yet. In a couple years, but right now I’d look at the coaching staff or a guy like Kurt Thomas, who has a lot of experience in this league.”

Grant recalled one conversation he had with Jordan and Pippen before a playoff series against the Knicks in which he was ailing.

“They came to me and said, ‘Look, man, don’t worry about scoring tonight; you just keep [Charles] Oakley off the backboards,’” Grant said. “So if Boozer is hurting as he says, it’s going to be up to a guy like [Joakim] Noah or Thomas to go up to him and say, ‘Give us what you’ve got, play hard,’ and if it’s not enough, then the coaching staff has to sit him down because you have other guys capable of doing what Boozer is giving them.”

Publicly anyway, these Bulls are standing behind Boozer.

“Win or lose , you can’t really point fingers,” Deng said. “Everyone is out there playing hard; everyone is doing what they can. Guys are in here getting extra work in. We’re taking this thing really seriously, and when we lose, we all lose. And when we don’t play well, we all don’t play well.”

Even Gibson, whose stock has been rising as Boozer’s falls, and not necessarily because of how he’s performing, is resolutely in Boozer’s corner.

“It’s not awkward for me,” Gibson said. “I have his back 110 percent. Like Coach Thibs said, our whole team is going to walk through the fire together during these playoffs. It’s all about staying together.”

Who knows? Maybe Boozer’s role as punching bag gives the Bulls back the toughness they have been lacking lately.

“All this talk from the outside, we have to tune it out,” Deng said. “We’re trying to do something within these walls. We have to just keep on concentrating on that. All that stuff is just a distraction. Carlos is a proven great player in this league, and we have no doubt that he will get his rhythm back. As a team, as long as we win and Carlos gets his rhythm back, we’ll even be better.”

Melissa Isaacson is a columnist for ESPNChicago.com

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Rod – “We all know that we would not win a playoff game with Teague, Collins, Zaza, and Wilkens playing heavy minutes.”

I think we have just won a playoff game with Teague playing 40+ minutes.

And we did win 2 playoff games vs. Orlando with ZaZa playing 26 and 24 minutes (ok, that’s not very heavy minutes – just sayin’).

Now with the question – I guess I would rather folks be taking shots. You can’t score unless you take shots obviously.

But that question is overly simplistic for a very complex equation.

Nobody doubts Josh’s ability. They just question his propensity to take more time off on the court than most, and his shooting wisdom.

So the question for most fans is this, ” Does Josh’s very good talent outweigh his taking more plays off than the average NBA’er, and his poor decision making in regards to shooting J’s”.

And really right now for me, it’s about a wash. He helps get you behind in the 1st half, and helps you catch up in the second half in this recent Bulls game..

He’s electric. And he’s cold water. All in one.

And please nobody bring up Kobe and LeBron etc. in this discussion.

Josh is not at that level of player. He has been defensively before. But not at as the total package. So you can’t compare what LeBron and Kobe do, and say Josh can do it also.

No he can’t. He’s not good enough. By a long shot really.

But the potential is there. We’ll have to see if it remains potential, or if it is ever maximized.

That remains to be seen.

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I guess with the Josh defenders – and I’m not a Josh hater in any stretch of the imagination, I’m just a Hawks fan, his electricity and his being born in College Park is what matters.

But I here folks defending him by saying, “Kobe has more techs. LeBron works the refs. Dwight has more techs.”

When Josh turns into Kobe, LeBron or Dwight, then let him talk. He needs to be quiet and play basketball until then in my opinion.

And I like Josh, and am a big Josh fan. But the truth is just the truth, regardless of how I feel about it.

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And about the motion O of Larry Drew.

Wrong team with the wrong skill set for that. We got a team of athletes, not shooters. We don’t have Korvers, J Richardson’s and those types really anywhere on our roster. No Bargnani.

Al and Josh need to hit the weight room hard, play C and SF 75%+ of the time, work on their low post game, and go after it.

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FIGHT NIGHT!

Everybody that knows me, know – I FIGHT DIRTY! I have had many rumbles on the blog. Three years ago, when I first came on the scene:
I threw the gauntlet down hard on Big-Ray. Hell, I didn’t know who he was and frankly I didn’t care. Doc came to his rescue and I jumped on him too! Those were the good ole’ days before I learned some blog etiquette.
Hell, I had never blogged before in my life!

Here’s my point: in the NFL when a formidable opponent has a known injury? The players in the locker room places a BOUNTY on that player.

Who ever knocks that fool out gets the pay-out. The key is to attack the achilles heel and try to rip it off it’s joint.

Jamal’s defense might not be the best, but he did help Rose tweak his left ankle. In the pre-season, he helped Teague sprain his ankle in a practice and sat him down for a while. Let’s see if we can set that BOUNTY for Jamal or ZaZa to step on Boozer’s toe and Rose’s ankle.

Hey why not FIGHT DIRTY? Its all good, especially if you’re getting your azz whupped and head butted. I’m just sayin’!
________________

So, Jamal giving the Bulls some bullets for the white board?
2 Lives Stews just reported Jamal said about the Bulls:

“IF that’s their best shot? I like our chances.”
_____________

Go head Jamal, I ain’t mad atcha!

Let’s Go!

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I suspect Josh has probably already reached his potential.
Note, I said potential not full potential….How many humans do reach their full potential? Maybe only God knows that answer?

but since he’s uncoachable hes outta here…..

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Zsa Zsa Pachulia ALSO COST US THE LAST BALLGAME by his horrible footwork in the paint. Zsa was given the basketball three times in the paint and instead of painting a portrait like Picasso, he trips over the buckets of paint and commits 3 turnovers. Go Chulia, 3 for 3, 3 turnovers and 6 points for the chicagoland squad. Great job Zsa Zsa, ruin the next game for us also.

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WE NEED ALLSTAR AL TO SHOW UP BIG TIME!!!!!!!

WHERE OH WHERE IS ALLSTAR AL???? PLEASE STAND UP??? PLEASE RISE UP??????

ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK.!YOU’LL HAVE PLENTY OF DRIVING LANES AVAILABLE TO YA ALL NIGHT DUDE…………………………..BRING YOUR DRIVING LICENSE PLEASE…

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IN THE OFF SEASON I WOULD MAKE IT MANDATORY THAT ALL OF OUR BIGS GET IN THE WEIGHT ROOM!!!! EVERY LAST ONE OF EM!!!!

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RX

You should never mix stubbornness (Drew) with stupidity (Josh).
Prognosis: poor/fatal.

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Najeh,

I would guess that at least 75% of the players in the league can give you 20 per night if they played 40 minutes and got enough shots. The question is whether those players can get you 20 per night and win at the same time..

Co-sign. If Marvin was the number 1 option, then opposing coaches would game plan for him, play their best defender on him at times, and even double team him. If that happens, I dont think a Marvin led team would be very successful.

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As for Josh Smith, he only took 7 three pointers last year. 7. This year, under LD, he has taken 154. I think LD has to take the majority of the blame for that, because he has not held Josh accountable. LD can talk until he is blue in the face, but until there is consistent accountability, Josh will be Josh.

The other players also take some of the blame, because they continue to pass him the ball when he is open, knowing that more than likely, he is going to shoot it (not to mention sometimes he gets passed the ball when the shot clock is running down, so he has no choice).

Its still ironic to me that at his press conference, LD said he wants Josh in the post, not shooting jumpers. But then as the season goes on, he is complimenting Josh and his improved jumper because he worked on it over the offseason. Josh (and Al) need to work on post moves.

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Josh should have been “corrected” months ago…….anyone with a brain has been thinking….”This guy is going to cost us a SEASON with his egomaniacal SHOT SELECTION and POOR ABILITY TO SHOOT.

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Josh wanna play like magic w/o a right hand dribble drive or a real jump shot..That ish he shoots is a set shot not a real jump shot……sigh………………

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Work Out!

The best Josh can do to improve his game this off srason is:

P90X: core strength stability and over all conditioning. And a sports psychologist would be most helpful. He dribbles too high too, so a bilateral dribbling skill with a lowered body stance and some fundamental passing skills would be the icing on the cake.

For now, calm down and play inside.

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Those guys at yahoo sports must be reading the Hawks blogs b/c the two main topics or persons of discussion is Josh and Teague. Well, here is their analysis on Josh play (or lack thereof) so far this series.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Josh-Smith-vs-Carlos-Boozer-in-the-battle-of-be;_ylt=Ar1cNm026Vt9jczwhM.GnLK8vLYF?urn=nba-wp2728

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90% of us on this blog new Teague can play except for Woody and Woody Jr…

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I figure it’s a white out tonight. So can anyone tell me what the price will be for the official series shirt?

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Good Answers Astro Joe, and Steve W. I can’t say that I disagree.

Vava74,

Which team do you think would win best 2 out of 3:

Guys who take “bad shots” Guys who play the “right way”

Jamal Crawford Mike Conley
Jason Terry Kirk Hinrich
JR Smith vs. Marvin Williams
Josh Smith Kevin Love
Zach Randolph Al Horford

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Test.

The blog monster seems to be limiting me to a couple posts a day, and then it puts me in time out. Just testing to see if I am good to go for a few posts this evening

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[...] most Hawks enthusiasts (or any person that remotely watches the NBA) have about Josh Smith. Here’s a quote from Larry Drew to the AJC: “I thought he was trying to do too much. He admitted it, that that was the case. He didn’t feel [...]

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Dept, must be an English major???LOL

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the Hawks closed to within 6 pts with 4:57 on the clock in the 4th….It was a winnable game..

They’re replaying game 2 on NBA TV. I am perplexed with Allstar Al’s soft non aggressive play on both ends of the floor..It look like somebody else out there, dare I say like Marvin’s twin..That ish is scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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SWAT NATIVE said: I think that Josh is embarassed at how he’s played in this series, and I expect a big outing tonight. I’m wearing my Josh Smith jersey tonight.

I totally disagree. Josh is NOT embarrassed at how he played. Josh played like this the last two months of the season and not once did he APOLOGIZE to the fans for stinking up the court. I read a blog earlier that describes Josh to the letter: #1:JOSH IS UNCOACHABLE and #2:JOSH HAS A POOR ATTITUDE thus lending itself to a POOR WORK ETHIC. These things will never change until Joshs head coach gets in Josh’s grill and gives Josh the ultimate ultimatim: SET A STANDARD FOR JOSH AND IF HE DOESNT MEET IT, DONT FEEL SORRY FOR JOSH AS HE IS SULKING, SIMPLY KICK HIM OFF THE TEAM AND REPLACE HIM BY GETTING SOMEBODY WHO IS COACHABLE. For all the time that Josh has been with the Hawks, JOSH COULD HAVE BEEN AS GOOD AS LABRON JAMES OR D-WADE BY NOW. Josh has better physical tools than either of them. Josh jumps higher and is more athletic than they are. Josh is not held accountable so he does whatever he wants knowing he will not be disciplied. If the coaches or the management were to say to him: Josh, for ever 3-pointer that you shoot, YOU WILL BE FINED $1000. Josh would then stop launching THREE pointers. Josh’s coaches are probably encouraging him to launch THREE pointers and they are probably telling Josh in practice, EVERYTHING OVER THE HALF-COURT LINE IS WITHIN YOUR RANGE SO JUST FIRE UP THE BASKETBALL AS SOON AS YOU STEP ACROSS THE MID-COURT LINE. Thats why you see Josh continuing to launch bricks every chance he gets. For all the bricks that josh has thrown up, he could have built an ice castle in the sky by now.

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I have a feeling tonight is going to be a Foreman – Frazier fight. Kinda slow and brutal.

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DUI cashing Checks!

I “new” you were gonna’ catch that sucka’! LOL!
I was going to snatch him up, but I knew you were swooping in like a buzzard on a broom handle with radar to sweep up the dirt.

I am so proud to say that the DUI hasn’t caught me yet and boy have I laid some turds. But, the Dept. always know when you can spell and apply basic grammar principles or are just plain ole’ illiterate. The devil is in the details!

DUI Patrol is on steroids!

Go DUI Go!

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Rod…your analysis on Marvin is perfect.

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“Allstar Al need to have a breakout game 20 pts and 22 rebounds!!!”

Yeah it’s pretty much up to ASA to show up for this one tonight. Whoever wins tonight will win the series. Need Josh and Al to show up against CHI’s weaker front line. They didn’t win Game 2 on superior talent, they won it on hustle. It’s all about pride and how bad the Hawks want it now. Jeff Teague is hungry to prove himself. ASA, Josh, JC1 and JJ all have or have had long term deals for $10m plus per season. Do they want to win or are they just going through the motions to collect a check?

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Leaving for Philips! Hope a lot of you can be there tonight. I’m already annoyed at the Bulls fans that will for sure be there.

Making a pact with myself not to melt down at the first stupid Josh Smith play/shot. It’s coming. I should not be surprised when it does.

Let’s get it tonight!

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Dept is somethin else..LOL ..He NEW what I meant…….sigh…

Don’t let me catch him on a basketball court. I’ll start raining 3’s on his azz….LOL

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This entire series is about rebounding.

Teague had 21 points the other night – a top 5 game in his career – and we lost.

Why? Look at the rebounding. We were outrebounded by 19. DENG HAD 6 MORE REBOUNDS THAN JOSH SMITH

CARLOS BOOZER WHO WE ALL TALK ABOUT BEING HURT, HAD 11 REBOUNDS

WHY IS HORFORD NOT CRASHING THE GLASS?

REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS REBOUNDS

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Tex Winters!

“Qn for everybody: Why cant we post Josh at the free throw line more often?
To me it opens the CHI D and brings Noah and Boozer out of the paint: if the weak-side big tried to give help(Noah), it would open Al’s mid range shot, and allow for Josh to take Boozer off ONE or TWO dribbles to the hole, and ideally open 3 point corner shots for Marvin or Jamal. Assuming Joe is at the corner-top posing as a decoy and keeping his man honest.”
- James on Pharr Rd -
________________

Great strategy from my main man James in the heart of Buckhead.

James what you are describing is a brilliant play to run when the offense bogs down. This sounds eerily similar to the vaunted:

Triangle Offense, designed by Tex Winters. You can run about 10 plays out of this. Josh in that role reminds me of Pippen as the point forward for the Iconic Bulls of the 80’s and 90’s. I like this scheme better than that pentangle that this team never bought into.

But unfortunately, these guys don’t move, weave, cut nor slash without the ball. Sans, Marvin and Kirk. Not only would this satisfy Josh’s desire to be in the middle of every play, but it keeps everyone sharp and involved in the offense. Also, you can call the pay out of this for either Joe, Jamal or Al to take that shot. Default shooter could be Marvin or the true PG.

Nice!

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* call the PLAY out of this for …

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Najeh

I have Verizon Wireless since 2005, due to when I moved to the GA Mountains, they were the only one that could provide service towers.
My roommate worked for BellSouth, now AT&T for 20 + years, the other provider out there was Cingular (now AT&).

I mention that because, AT&T has never added towers, but just acquired Bell South networks. AT&T runs on the very cheap at every level and does not have to compete hard, due to the fact they are so big.

They are the equivalent to AOL when it comes to being bogged down with too many users on that network. They’re too big to move swift.
_____________

I recommend Verizon, they’re like FBook and Apple when it compares to leading edge technology. Also, my phone only worked well @ Phillips but was totally jammed when I was on the Marta Rail.
_____________

I diagnose your problem as a combination of network provider and cold spots inside the arena. I hope your battery lasted long enough to read all that. Sorry! Enjoy the Game and please Be Careful.

I Love You!

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Yeah, I’m down for the Joe MVP chants. Assuming the Hawks are competitive of course.

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Whats the chant for when Josh chucks up a bad shot? LVP?

northcyde,

I am ok with JJ taking more shots. The problem I have with him is he takes too long to do something. And I think as a result, the other players are not sure whether he is going to shoot or pass.

He needs to speed up his decision making.

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I thought the Smoove bad shot chant had already been established as “NOOOOO”.

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“It’s easy to say L.D. should just bench Josh when he keeps taking bad shots. But, as L.D. noted from Game 2, the Hawks need the many positives that Josh can uniquely provide them”

I don’t buy this. There comes a point where the “many positives” get outweighed by the negatives. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Josh doesn’t contribute in a lot of positive fashions at times when he is on the court, but sometimes he really isn’t contributing at all or is contributing so little that his positives aren’t even a factor when compared with his negatives. In those scenarios, it should be a very easy decision to just bench him. During the first half of game 2 was one of those scenarios. Josh was taking bad, ill-advised shots, making careless turnovers, and failing to box out or stay fundamentally sound on the defensive end. During that first half, he was almost a total non-factor on the glass (in fact, he was more of a liability than anything), he was a distraction and liability on the offensive end, and it was clear that his head just wasn’t in the game. You could see Josh’s frustration and tell that he wasn’t handling it the right way. There was no excuse for leaving him in the game when he was not giving much at all to help the team win. Zaza could easily have provided more positive play in that first half.

Now, in the second half, I can understand what L.D. did and I agree with it. He decided to keep Josh in the game since Josh started to use his energy for positive things, and even if he couldn’t get it going offensively, he started contributing in other ways and effected the game in a positive manner for the Hawks. At that point, he deserved to be on the floor. Josh’s play in the first half and beginning of the third quarter was totally different from his play for the rest of the game. It’s very easy to see, and this is something that a coach needs to be able to readily respond to. Enough of this “take the good with the bad”. This is the playoffs, it’s win or go home, if any player is proving to hurt the team more than help them during a critical stretch, they need to be taken off of the court for someone who can help to get the job done in a positive manner. It’s that simple. L.D. needs to man up and stop trying to be Josh’s best friend and just be his coach. He needs to learn how to discipline his players and truly hold them accountable.

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Brandon

Amen!

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@JeJe
“You are a serious idiot with no intellectual capacity. Saying Marvin will be a shining star in this league is a manifestation of your ignorant state of mind.”

I guess, but i still will take the Bulls coach words more serious than anything you have to say! he has a ring,a COY award and coached the MVP this year… you have a girl name..Hawks win bib 2 nite!

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Raymond

We got beat to a pulp on the glass! Yeah, Al had 13 boards, but he needed 20 to beat out Noah. Noah whupped his but doen there.

He said, he is a PF not us? That’s what PF’s and C’s do. Also his 9 points was no where near enough to help his team win. He needs to stop passint the ball to Josh and Marvin and be that All Star. Take it to the hole and have an IMPACT for once in 3 months.

He has totally disappeared since Feb. What games are you watching?

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@ Michael Cunningham remember this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHl_FxokyS8

Bulls got bigger and took pressure off of Deng guarding Smith. Meanwhile we play the same old smallball style. How many teams in the playoffs have a 6′8 “power” forward?

Josh Smith would kill Deng in the post and run the wing on the break. Nobody really cares about the Hawks because they don’t believe in their own players.

Lol at Gearon Jr.’s Josh Smith being the closest thing to Lebron. Yet you choose to play him at power forward and now center.
Bulls are too good for gimmicks. I hope Josh Smith wins a championship. Just not with the Hawks. lol Damien Wilkins #nepotism

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@Trade J Stupid
So the Heat should trade Lebron James, Dwyane Wade?
Should the Lakers have traded Magic Johnson? Should they have traded Kobe Bryant?

The Hawks are squandering a perfectly good opportunity. There is not enough talent in the NBA for you to be trading away highquality players.

Josh can play the post up defend rebound 3 ala James Worthy or Gerald Wallace. As is the Bulls are getting whatever they want and the rebounding disparity is 20+

Joakim Noah is outrebounding Dwight Howard. You think if we put Josh at the 3 and Jason at the 5 you think Joakim Noah is good enough to kill us again?

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