Congratulations to Joe Johnson and Al Horford making the 2010 all-star game according to Ball Don't Lie.
Fourth go round in a row for Joe. Has he deserved every last one of them? Debatable. Will we look back in ten years and see Joe Johnson as the guy who pulled, clawed, and fought for 40 minutes a night to rescue Atlanta from basketball hell? You damn well better believe it. So in the last year of that his "horribly overpaid" contract, he has the team in first place in the Southeast division and is a four time all-star. Worse money has been spent. Well done and thank you sir.
And what can you say about Al Horford? Well, I can say a lot. I love the guy. If you watch him every night, if you actually look at what he does on the court, he deserves to be there. And yes, he deserves to be there mostly because of the position he plays, but the Hawks are standing with four less wins with David Lee replacing him. I truly believe that. The guy is a leader, efficient, little things focused player. Those don't usually get all-star recognition, but they should. This year, they did. Congrats to Al.
If Al Horford is the rower, the guy who always will keep the team moving through sheer force of will, and Joe Johnson is the motor who consistently powers the team through at a steady pace. Well Josh Smith is the sail. When the wind is blowing right for him, this team flies, and it looks effortless. And this season, it has been a constant damn wind gust. Josh Smith takes over games. He changes games. Josh makes horrible games worth going to. He almost single-handedly makes Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford's defense a non factor most nights. Read that sentence again. It is true. Josh Smith is having a career year, and he should be an all-star. Hell, the all-star game was created for people like Josh Smith. God is not happy. In the end, the fans voting for KG screwed Josh. Lets hope he takes that anger out on Friday.
Go Hawks!