Smith plays role of "old man" to perfectionBy

[DrReality]

Hawks' Smith plays role of "old man" to perfectionBy Sekou Smith

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Joe Smith wears his status as elder statesman in the Hawks' locker room with pride.

.The barbs from his younger teammates don't sting as much, considering they're all rooted in truth. And, no, he did not help Dr. Naismith hang the first peach basket.

"They love to tease me about being the old guy," a smiling Smith said while sitting at his locker after practice Thursday. "Young fella [rookie Jeff Teague, who lockers next to Smith] told me he was 6 when I got drafted and I was like, ‘Wow.' But that's reality. When you stick around a long time, you get a chance to see and do it all."

The Hawks have yet to unleash Smith in the preseason, preserving the veteran power forward's legs for what they hope will be a long season. He's yet to see the floor for a game and is held out of some drills in practice to keep his body fresh.

"We're just trying to be smart with it," said Smith, a spry 34-year-old with 27,405 minutes of game-time mileage on his body. "I don't want to burn myself out in the preseason. The plan is for me to play in two of the last three preseason games just to get some game rhythm under my belt so I can be ready for opening night."

Smith has nothing to prove to his teammates. Most of them were just a few years older than Teague was when Smith was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 draft.

"For a guy to make it to his 15th year, that's a tremendous honor in itself," Josh Smith said. "He doesn’t have to play or even practice in preseason for me because I know what he's going to bring to this team when it matters. I know that from playing against him the past five years when he was on other teams.

"All I need from him is to see him do what he's always done and to glean a little bit of that knowledge that he has to help me get better. Hopefully, it can spread around this team, what he's learned in all these years in the league. Every day I try and steal bits and pieces of it and apply it to my game."

Joe Smith has more to give than just knowledge, though. At 6 feet 10 and a sinewy 225 pounds, Smith still has plenty left in his tank. He averaged 17 minutes in 13 playoff games with Cleveland last year. Hawks coach Mike Woodson said he plans on using Smith in a similar capacity.

"A guy like that, he's seen it all and been in it all," assistant coach Larry Drew said. "He knows who he is. So when he comes to a team, he knows what he brings to the table. He knows his body and he knows how to prepare. And obviously at this stage of his career, he may have lost a step or two, but there's still a lot there to work with. With the way we're going to be using him, as a power forward that can pick-and-pop and stretch the defense or go down low in certain situations, I think it's a perfect fit."

The right fit is what Smith said he was searching for as a free agent. He explored his options with Cleveland, the Hawks and several other teams but recognized the opportunity to do good things on and off the floor here. And he's prepared to fill whatever role Woodson has mapped out for him.

"At this point in my career, 15 to 20 minutes is good for me," Smith said. "Plus, we have so much talent on this team. We can spread the minutes around and go with different alignments every night, depending on the matchups. That's another thing that has allowed me stick around for long. I know how to play my role."

[Buzzard]

Hawks' Smith plays role of "old man" to perfectionBy Sekou Smith

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Joe Smith wears his status as elder statesman in the Hawks' locker room with pride.

.The barbs from his younger teammates don't sting as much, considering they're all rooted in truth. And, no, he did not help Dr. Naismith hang the first peach basket.

"They love to tease me about being the old guy," a smiling Smith said while sitting at his locker after practice Thursday. "Young fella [rookie Jeff Teague, who lockers next to Smith] told me he was 6 when I got drafted and I was like, ‘Wow.' But that's reality. When you stick around a long time, you get a chance to see and do it all."

The Hawks have yet to unleash Smith in the preseason, preserving the veteran power forward's legs for what they hope will be a long season. He's yet to see the floor for a game and is held out of some drills in practice to keep his body fresh.

"We're just trying to be smart with it," said Smith, a spry 34-year-old with 27,405 minutes of game-time mileage on his body. "I don't want to burn myself out in the preseason. The plan is for me to play in two of the last three preseason games just to get some game rhythm under my belt so I can be ready for opening night."

Smith has nothing to prove to his teammates. Most of them were just a few years older than Teague was when Smith was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 draft.

"For a guy to make it to his 15th year, that's a tremendous honor in itself," Josh Smith said. "He doesn’t have to play or even practice in preseason for me because I know what he's going to bring to this team when it matters. I know that from playing against him the past five years when he was on other teams.

"All I need from him is to see him do what he's always done and to glean a little bit of that knowledge that he has to help me get better. Hopefully, it can spread around this team, what he's learned in all these years in the league. Every day I try and steal bits and pieces of it and apply it to my game."

Joe Smith has more to give than just knowledge, though. At 6 feet 10 and a sinewy 225 pounds, Smith still has plenty left in his tank. He averaged 17 minutes in 13 playoff games with Cleveland last year. Hawks coach Mike Woodson said he plans on using Smith in a similar capacity.

"A guy like that, he's seen it all and been in it all," assistant coach Larry Drew said. "He knows who he is. So when he comes to a team, he knows what he brings to the table. He knows his body and he knows how to prepare. And obviously at this stage of his career, he may have lost a step or two, but there's still a lot there to work with. With the way we're going to be using him, as a power forward that can pick-and-pop and stretch the defense or go down low in certain situations, I think it's a perfect fit."

The right fit is what Smith said he was searching for as a free agent. He explored his options with Cleveland, the Hawks and several other teams but recognized the opportunity to do good things on and off the floor here. And he's prepared to fill whatever role Woodson has mapped out for him.

"At this point in my career, 15 to 20 minutes is good for me," Smith said. "Plus, we have so much talent on this team. We can spread the minutes around and go with different alignments every night, depending on the matchups. That's another thing that has allowed me stick around for long. I know how to play my role."

A vet player who picked us over Cleveland and Lebron! Things are looking good in the Atl! This may prove to be as good a get as Crawford. A lot of players have talent; Joes experience and attitude is just what the doctor ordered for our team.

[Swatguy]

A vet player who picked us over Cleveland and Lebron! Things are looking good in the Atl! This may prove to be as good a get as Crawford. A lot of players have talent; Joes experience and attitude is just what the doctor ordered for our team.

We still lack that guy that refuses to allow defeat as an option. I rarely see Joe (Johnson) dive for the loose ball, see Al make the hard foul (to a star), Marvin use his physicality towards the rim.

We need more.

[thefloydian]

We still lack that guy that refuses to allow defeat as an option. I rarely see Joe (Johnson) dive for the loose ball, see Al make the hard foul (to a star), Marvin use his physicality towards the rim.

We need more.

As much as I don't think we need Flip on the floor anymore with the addition of Crawford, I'm afraid his loss will be noticeable in the locker room. That is, unless Joe takes over in that capacity.