Hawks’ Josh Smith, Broken Down

Not injured, or delinquent on the court—though he was, for a time, both of those things this past season. But rather broken down, statistically and existentially, by the estimable blogger Bret LaGree, of Hoopinionblog.com. LaGree, an Atlantan whom I’ll be interviewing here later this week, is one of the finest basketball bloggers around (as evidenced by his recruitment earlier this year by ESPN’s excellent TrueHoop Network), as well as a playwrite and film critic. He’s made blogging about the Atlanta Hawks into an unusually high art, which is no small task considering “Coach” Mike Woodson’s penchant for both labyrinthine and clichéd statements, and the Hawks’ repetitive and simplistic offensive schemes. Not a lot of new things to say, in other words, over the course of a season. I point your attention to LaGree’s breakdown of Josh Smith, in particular, because he is the player that most typifies the Hawks’ strengthes (athleticism, youth, and open-court virtuousity) and weaknesses (chaotic play, youth, and a disconnect between player and coach), and therefore paints the clearest picture of the team’s future.