This may surprise people but the first person to show to the Atlanta Hawks practice facility was star player Josh Smith. Josh played it off though like he didn’t know he’d be the first. Me, I’d say it’s his attempt to say yea, I may want out but I’m here to play regardless.
“I thought somebody got here before me,” he said, chuckling. “I didn’t know I was the first one. I wanted to be able to come here and use the facility. Being able to come here, this is my sanctuary. I can relieve stress and clear my mind and work on my game.” (Atlanta Journal – Constitution)
Smith was the total team guy today in front of reporters. He actually wouldn’t even address the Yahoo Sports report that said he’d welcome a trade out of Atlanta. In fact he actually sounded like he wanted to be a part of what the team has going.
“We have an opportunity to do something special,” Smith said. “We have to know it and believe in it, no matter who [the opponent] is. … We have to be able to jell quickly. Everyone has to be able to buy into what Coach Drew has.” (Atlanta Journal – Constitution)
I’m sure Smith is just playing nice as teams have minimal time to come together as a unit. The reason being is that he’s right, the Hawks do have the opportunity to do something special.
They made it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2010-11 before losing to the Chicago Bulls. Even better they return seven of their eight top players, with the only possible loss being Jamal Crawford.
So yea, they’ve got a great opportunity by bringing back that kind of talent and a unit that’s won together while other teams will be trying to become a team.
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