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.

 

Josh Smith Crams A Dunk On Joel Anthony

For as dirty as a dunker Josh Smith is, he’s been relatively quiet on the highlight reels this year.  We need some more posters J-Smoove!  Funny comment I saw on this YouTube page – you know how you can thumbs up and thumbs down YouTube videos ala Facebook likes?  Someone said:

The 3 people who thumbed this down are Lebron, DWade, And Bosh.

NBA 2K11 Trailer: Bulls vs. Genghis Khan

Another great commercial for NBA 2K11 with Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, and Russell Westbrook.  The game FINALLY drops next Tuesday, October 5th.

New NBA 2K11 Trailer Starring Smith x Iguodala x Westbrook

DimeMag just posted another awesome NBA 2K11 commercial but this time only starring Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala, and Russell Westbrook.  I like that 2K Sports choose some “quieter” players who aren’t always in front of the media cameras for these trailers, which all have been amazing so far.

NBA 2K11 Trailer: Rajon Rondo Is Better Than Derrick Rose & David Lee

2K Sports unleashes their second great commercial spot for NBA 2K11 where David Lee, Derrick Rose, and Rajon Rondo argue about who’s better between the three.  Virtual David Lee gets buckets but Rose had the t-shirt to trump Lee but Rondo had the t-shirt to beat them all on some rock, paper, scissors flow.  Hit the jump for another trailer featuring Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, and Russell Westbrook continuing their NERF dunk contest from the first ad spot I posted a couple of weeks ago.

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NBA 2K11 Trailer Starring Rose x Rondo x Iggy x Westbrook x Smith

This NBA 2K11 commercial starring Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Andre Iguodala, Russel Westbrook, and Josh Smith is hilarious!  I couldn’t pick what was funniest – chef Rose cooking up a feast in the kitchen, the dunk contest on the mini hoop, or Josh Smith hating on Utah’s sushi.  Where was David Lee though?  I assume this commercial is the result of the photo shoot with Rondo rocking his “I have a ring.  I’m better than Derrick Rose and David Lee” t-shirt.

Carlos Delfino Dunks All Over The Atlanta Hawks

How is no one talking about this dunk?  Carlos Delfino slammed all over BOTH Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulla last night as the Milwaukee Bucks tied up the series 2-2 against the Atlanta Hawks.

Top 10 Dunks of The 09-10 NBA Season

NBA.com compiled a video of their top 10 dunks of the season but the following dunks could have EASILY been included in their list.

• Marcus Thornton on Gerald Wallace
• Josh Smith’s Buzzer Beating Tip-In Beat The Magic
• J.R. Smith’s Incredible 360 Alley-Oop
• Tony Allen Banging One On Corey Brewer
• Trevor Ariza Throwing It down On Mehmet Okur
• Amare Stoudemire On Richard Jefferson
• J.R. Smith’s Reverse Dunk Over Omri Caspi
• J.J. Hickson Letting D-Wade Know How It Feels To Get Dunked On
• Damien Wilkins Doing His Best Uncle Dominique Impersonation Over Nenad Krstic
• Jeff Green’s Game Winning Dunk Over Josh Smith

Josh Smith’s Game Winning Dunk

Not only can Josh Smith’s dunks embarrass senior citizens, they can win games as well.  Case in point, his dunk last night to lift his Atlanta Hawks in a victory over conference rival Orlando Magic.

Josh Smith Makes Theo Ratliff Duck Out of The Way

Charlotte Bobcats’ Theo Ratliff knew better than to try to contest this cram from Atlanta Hawks’ Josh Smith. About five years ago, Ratliff probably would have tried to contest this dunk, seeing as he was an elite shot blocker in his prime. It’s too bad it wasn’t five years ago though…

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