Welcome Back JSmoove, How I Have Missed You

Well the long awaited return of our favorite shot blocker extraordinaire is finally upon us. I can only speak for myself when trying to contain the glee I feel about seeing number 5 get back in the paint and start swatting those shots into section 210. (Those 3 point attempts on the other hand, I can wait to see) But in all seriousness, this return to the lineup can only do good things for our team. The Hawks did go 6-6 in the 12 games Smoove missed, of which 8 were on the road. But in watching these past 12 games it was clearly evident that the team would have performed on a totally different level had J-Smoove been in the lineup.

For instance, I'm fairly confident that having Smith play could only have helped our team win when they lost by one in Boston. Then with those back to back games against the New Jersey Nets, Smith would have easily helped send at least one of Devin Harris' shots into the stands. I mean this is the same Devin Harris that had trouble stopping some British guy in street clothes.

!Game Analysis Warning!
Josh's biggest impact may be in the help he gives Mike Bibby on the defensive end. Unfortunately, Bibby can't really guard the quick point guards in the league anymore. Bibby's inadequacy on the defensive end leaves Joe Johnson with the burden of guarding the usually quicker PG for opposing teams in addition to carrying our team offensively. These two responsibilities have been clearly weighing on Joe as his scoring output the past few games has been 4, 15, 18, and 18. Though we are 2-2 in those games, these scoring numbers are just not going to get it done.

But back to the topic - with the help of Josh Smith behind him, maybe Bibby can guard the PG again. This time, if they blow by him - which we know they will - Smoove will be there to send that shot away. And let's be honest, if the man can do this to Dwight Howard, he surely can take a TJ Ford layup and give the shot a new planetary orbit around the sun. See, if you look at the Hawks losses in Smoove's absence - Boston, New Jersey twice, Indiana, Cleveland, and Toronto - you can see that most of these teams have a PG who is quicker than Bibby. This quicker PG can easily get to the basket and put points up on the board. (You are going to have to ignore the Cleveland game because they have LeBron and he can do this)

So understand that the return of Smith can only bring good prospects to our team. With him back, the defense can play up on their man so if they get beat Josh is there to to scare them from taking a layup. With Smith back, Joe won't be getting to tired on defense to bring his offensive A-game. With Smoove back, the Hawks will also return that swagger that has been missing. All these reasons and more is why I am excited to watch the game tomorrow night against Memphis (albeit on yahoo gametracker...No TV? Are you kidding me?). I mean in all seriousness the least his return does is move Horford back to his natural (Hawks) position of center...right?