Josh Smith Drops Weights, Hints At Wanting To Play For An “Elite” Team

Being Josh Smith isn’t easy. It’s never been easy. Just because you have all the talent in the world doesn’t mean everything is set up for perfection, it doesn’t mean there won’t be doubters and judgmental folks waiting to bring you down. He’s only 25, yet he’s been in the league for 8 years and he’s heard it all: “Josh, you’re a bad shooter.” .. “Josh, your attitude needs to change.” .. “Josh, you’re a troublemaker and ran your coach out of town.” Now, I’m not saying none of this is Josh’s fault, his shot selection and his bad attitude comes from his young age and his used to winning ways, but eventually you have to grow up and change. Maybe it’s the city of Atlanta that’s made him the way he is. Could it be the distractions surrounding him, or is it the fact that he doesn’t have any kind of mentor to guide him?

Josh, along with everyone else who watches the game of basketball, expected him to be traded for the last two years but he’s still there. He’s still rockin’ the No. 5 and harassing opposing players in the paint, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean he’s happy where he’s at right now.

“When you’ve been in one place for a while, it crosses you mind: Maybe I want to get lost. Punch the GPS a few times, Smith said during practice. “I’ve been here a long time. I’ve never lashed out at the organization. All I ask for sometimes is, when I raise my hand, maybe somebody can help me up, so I’m not always the person who’s trying to [defend me from criticism]. It would be nice if somebody else said, ‘This guy’s a pretty good player.’”

J-Smoove has a point; no one (especially his own teammates) have ever defended him. For the last two seasons both his rebounding (8.7 and 8.5) and points (15.7 and 16.6) have gone up. Let’s not forget that he’s by far the Hawks best defender. He’s so versatile and athletic that he can guard nearly any position on the court. According to 82games.com, Atlanta gave up a full 7 points when Josh was on the bench. If you look at his numbers and his impact by both energy and defending, teams should be lined up at the door wanting this kid but unfortunately they’re not, and a lot of that has to do with the media giving him a bad name. In fact, Smoove is so focused this season that he dropped 25 pounds, the lightest he’s been since high school and head coach Larry Drew notices a brand new player.

“He’s getting off his feet a lot quicker, getting to the rim and exploding, even more than he has in the past, Drew said during practice. “I’m seeing and hearing a passion I haven’t seen before.”

Trust me, Drew, the passion has been there. He’s just finally stopped listening to the outside world and started focusing in on what’s important: going out there and playing your best. It’s great that Josh is showing persistence at trying to be a better player and person, he wants us to see that. And whether that’s in Atlanta or elsewhere is for him to decide.

“I’ve been in the league a while,” said Smith. “My main concern now is winning. I want to win, no matter what the cost is. I want to be one of the elite teams in this league. My window isn’t closing, but it’s slowly going down. Before I get out of here, I want to accomplish some things.”

Smith didn’t say whether he wants to accomplish those “things” were in Atlanta, but he did say he wants to accomplish them on an elite team. Right now Atlanta is not an elite team. They gave nearly every penny they had to Joe Johnson (Why? We’ll never know) and virtually have zero cap space to make any kind of major moves unless it involves a sign-and-trade. And if that does happen we all know who’s going to be apart of that trade, and it’s a damn shame.

 

Shaq Speaks The Truth About Joe Johnson’s Contract

Joe Johnson is rich. Not just rich, but filthy rich. Last July, the Atlanta Hawks signed their two guard to a six-year, $119 million extension to stay in the Dirty South and help lead the young Hawks to title hopes. Well, the truth is that Joe isn’t the kind of player who can be the No. 1 guy on your team. Don’t get me wrong, homie can flat-out play basketball, but he’s just not that type of player. In a recent interview with Nola.com, the now retired Shaquille O’Neal stated that team owners are partially the reason as to why the the league has such bad financial problems, which is obvious at this point. He also went on about Johnson’s contract and Atlanta’s lack of knowledge when it comes to money.

“I love Joe Johnson and I hope he doesn’t get mad with me, but he’s not a $20 million a year guy,” O’Neal said. Business-wise, Atlanta isn’t making that much money. But if you are going to offer a kid a lot of money, he’s going to take it. I think we need a system that protect the owners from each other.’’

Shaq has a point, if these owners are going to offer guys like Johnson big time money, of course they’re going to take it. Who wouldn’t? For a guy who has career averages of 17.7 points and 4.5 assists per game, that doesn’t exactly scream ” ‘Bron money,” but I wouldn’t worry Shaq, I’m sure Joe already knows that.

NBA 2K11 Player Ratings

NBA 2K11 has released their player ratings for each team’s projected starting lineup. Wade, LeBron, and Kobe are the three highest rated players at 97. The rest of the top ten list is as follows:

T-1 Kobe Bryant Lakers 97
T-1 LeBron James Heat 97
T-1 Dwyane Wade Heat 97
4 Chris Paul Hornets 95
5 Carmelo Anthony Nuggets 93
6 Deron Williams Jazz 92
7 Kevin Durant Thunder 91
8 Tim Duncan Spurs 90
9 Pau Gasol Lakers 89
T-10 Dwight Howard Magic 88
T-10 Joe Johnson Hawks 88
T-10 Brandon Roy Blazers 88

In my opinion, the ratings are pretty fair except Joe Johnson and Tim Duncan are a bit overrated and KD is underrated. Either way, the game drops next Tuesday October 5th and is gonna be sick and you can check out the full list of ratings here.

NBA Elite 11 – What Does It Take To Become Legendary?

Michael Jordan is on the cover of 2K Sports’ NBA 2K11 while his roster of athletes (including Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallce, Richard Hamilton) are promoting EA Sports’ NBA Elite 11′s newest feature – Be A Pro.  The game mode allows users to create a player from the draft and then go through 23 legend levels “to become legendary”.

Jordan Brand – Love of The Game Commercials

The Team Jordan brand just released this full set of commercials where their team of hoopers explain their love for this game we refer to as basketball.  Up top is Michael Jordan’s spot and after the jump is Chris Paul, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Mike Bibby, and Kevin Martin’s commercials.

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DJ Hero’s VIP Lounge

Check out DJ Drama, Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), Big Boi, Jermaine Dupri, and more preview DJ Hero at the Konsole Kingz Xbox 360 VIP Lounge.

NBA 09 All-Star Reserves Announced

The 2009 NBA All-Star Reserves were announced last night on TNT.