On Josh and Big Al

by JohnWebb on Jan 16, 2012 1:58 PM EST

Let me get straight to the point: Al Horford's value is overestimated, and while a Josh Smith trade made sense during the last half of the 2011 campaign, it makes absolutely no sense now, not while Smoove is ballin out of his mind. More after the jump.

Al Horford is not a guy who takes over games, and thus the team doesn't live or die on his play. Boss is the glue guy, the man who keeps his teammates together and motivates them, plays defense, and rebounds efficiently. He anchors the paint, and plays inspired, solid ball night in and night out. Why did fans and experts count the Hawks out after he went down against the Pacers? Saying Atlanta will completely miss the playoffs because a glue guy is injured? That's an overestimation if I've ever heard one. You can preach intangibles all you want, but intangibles can be felt on the bench too. His numbers can be replaced, and he can be as much of a leader riding the pine as hitting the hardwood.

And this is not a bad thing. In fact, it's desirable. Take a look at the 76ers, the Pacers, and the Grizzlies: none of those teams have a definitive superstar, but they're legit contenders this year because they're balanced. Who needs a big 3 when all 5 of your guys are playing at just an echelon below Lebron and D-Wade? Give me Jrue Holiday, Iggy, Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand, and Jodie Meeks any day. Al is one of those guys. Great player, but not absolutely irreplaceable. Case in point: a Rose-less Bulls team is losing against the balanced Grizzlies this very moment.

Josh Smith, on the other hand, is that catalyst, the man whose play can embody an entire night of Hawks basketball. Bad Josh epitomizes Atlanta's common problems: too many jump shots, poor shot selection, and lazy defense. Good Josh is the example of how powerful this team can be.

I honestly believe that Josh just didn't have the right players around him: imagine, instead of the 3-point happy Bibby, Jeff Teague had been leading the charge all these years. Imagine a slashing Marvin Williams and Tracy McGrady coming off the bench in that same time. Josh Smith was just following the example of the other starting 4, taking jump shots on a regrettably jump shot team. Trading him now, after he finally has positive influences next to him, would be devastating. My point is this: there are only a handful of guys that could replace good Josh, and all of them are out of the ATL's pay range.

Tell me what you think in the poll of the comments section. Go Hawks!

Poll

Think I'm right?

Yes, on both counts.

39 votes

Yes, but not about Al.

12 votes

Yes, but not about Josh.

3 votes

No, not at all.

3 votes

57 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

If we keep getting good Josh, we'll be OK.

The problem is that history has shown we only get Good Josh for stretches. Good Josh is not an everyday player.

What we will miss most about Al is his leadership, enthusiasm and overall smarts.

I'm on the Twitter: twitter.com/edgrohl

by Duff_Man on Jan 16, 2012 2:09 PM EST reply actions

Al can still be a leader on this team even if he is not on the court.

If he is not a leader in the locker room for the time he is out, then he was not a leader in the first place. He may not be able to impact the game on the floor but he will still be at every game, he will be on the bench, and he will still have influence on the other guys on the team.

by jdewayneatl on Jan 16, 2012 2:19 PM EST up reply actions

Exactly what I'm sayin',

Question: Woody, what happened to the ball movement? Answer: I think our defense was pretty solid tonight. We held them to under 200 points so we did our job on that end.

by JohnWebb on Jan 17, 2012 5:10 PM EST up reply actions

power rankings..

marc stein & whoever does the power rankings on nba.com dropped the hawks quite a bit because al is out.. apparently if youre not considered a “marquee” team or the sixers (who hasnt played a real team yet) then you get no respect. i guess winning means nothing

by cory25 on Jan 16, 2012 9:59 PM EST reply actions

power rankings are stupid in my opinion and are mostly aimed at those that

are not familiar with every team.

Ivan Johnson does not buy ground beef, he just takes a whole cow, runs it through his beard, and fully cooked hamburgers come out.

by Throw on Jan 16, 2012 10:27 PM EST up reply actions

If I did power rankings, I would put the Hawks number one and wouldn’t even bother doing the rest of the teams.

A major sporting news website’s power rankings are based on the standings, with a few media driven adjustments and a controversial spot or two.

I feel like SWAT right now..Colin Farrell GET AT ME! GET AT ME! LL Cool J GET AT ME!

by bwellnjonesco on Jan 17, 2012 9:05 AM EST up reply actions

Good Josh is only Good Josh if A) he shows up with big numbers B) we win.

That being said if Smith gets bad numbers in a win he will get maligned. If he gets bad numbers in a LOSS he will get absolutely hammered.

I would have taken Bibby or Crawford’s shooting as long as they could help defend and rebound(6’10" Vlad). But they couldnt and were anathema to defense.

* Hawks trade {Al Horford + protected 2nd rounder} for {Perimeter F Jon Leuer and C Andrew Bogut}

* Jeff Teague * Joe Johnson* Jon Leuer * Josh Smith * Andrew Bogut *

by PointGuardSlim on Jan 16, 2012 11:44 PM EST reply actions

I don't think he gets hammered in losses

Smoove gets hammered for taking jumpers regardless, along with Joe and every other shooter we had. Now that our favorite team has more aggressive, slashing players, a few jump shots are permissible.

Question: Woody, what happened to the ball movement? Answer: I think our defense was pretty solid tonight. We held them to under 200 points so we did our job on that end.

by JohnWebb on Jan 17, 2012 5:09 PM EST up reply actions