Howard Smith – USA Today Sports Images
The Atlanta Hawks know coming into their first round series in the NBA Playoffs that they may have a tough time putting points on the board. That’s because they’re facing off with the best defensive team in the league in the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers have elite defenders on both the perimeter and the interior, meaning that they can stop teams from scoring all over the floor.
The Hawks biggest offensive threat of Al Horford is likely going to have a difficult time in the series with the Pacers. Horford may be the best player on the floor, but he plays as an undersized center and will be matched up with the towering and lumbering Roy Hibbert. That matchup definitely favors Hibbert.
Because of this that means a lot of the scoring load might fall on Josh Smith, which doesn’t exactly give a lot of comfort to Hawks fans. Smith has elite-level talent and athletic ability, but his decision-making ability on the offensive end has always been a point of concern for Atlanta, even prompting fans to yell “NO!” whenever he starts to pull up for a shot on the perimeter.
On the season, Smith has taken 1182 field goal attempts. Two of them have been last-second full-court heaves, which is irrelevant. The important parts are that he has taken 583 attempts from outside of eight feet and 597 attempts from inside of eight feet. Outside of eight feet, he is shooting just 30.2 percent on the season. Inside of eight feet he is shooting 62.6 percent this year.
There is a huge discrepancy between his shooting percentages from close range and when he takes jumpers from mid-range or the perimeter. Smith is an elite finisher at the rim because of his athleticism and strength, but he still takes half of his shots from the perimeter. For the Hawks to be successful against Indiana, Smith needs to attack the rim.
The problem is that Smith has been doing this act for his entire career. He knows, as does most everyone else, that he can get to the rim and finish unbelievably effectively, but he just doesn’t do it. Though it’s exactly what the Hawks need, it’s hard to imagine Smith suddenly changing his ways for this series, which probably spells bad news for Atlanta.
Cody Williams is a Senior NBA Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
