Josh Smith Motivated By Jameer Nelson’s Boast

The NBA Playoffs haven’t been this highly anticipated in many, many years — maybe ever, in fact — but there’s one series that almost no one is excited to watch: Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks. Sorry, Lang.

But, hey, Josh Smith is mad at Jameer Nelson! Sort of! Get pumped, everyone!

Smith apparently took exception to Nelson being a little too confident about Orlando’s chances against Atlanta, and cites the Hawks’ regular season success versus the Magic as reason not to overlook his squad.

The AJC reports:

“A lot of their players are already claiming they are already going to make the second round, so that gives us a little added motivation, too,” Smith said. “If that doesn’t get you geared up, I don’t know what does.” After the Bulls defeated Orlando 102-99 on Sunday, Chicago guard Derrick Rose was being interviewed live on ABC when Nelson sought him out. He leaned close to Rose and appeared to say: “Catch you in the second round.”

The winner of the Hawks-Magic series will face the Chicago-Indiana winner. The Magic swept the Hawks by an NBA-record margin of 101 points last season, so it’s not as if they don’t have reason for confidence. The Hawks counter that they won three of four regular-season meetings, including the past three. Smith said he thinks that should temper Nelson’s confidence. “It was surprising, knowing that we are a better team,” Smith said. “They understand that they can’t just run us off [the court]. It’s going to be a tough series, and they know it.”

Hawks center Al Horford said Nelson’s comments have been a subject of conversation in the locker room, but guard Joe Johnson shrugged them off. “That’s how he feels,” Johnson said. “They are confident. You are supposed to be confident. It doesn’t bother me.”

So, yes, there you have it. Orlando vs Atlanta. There’s a beef there, but it’s one-sided, and not all that interesting. Oh, well.

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Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Jameer Nelson, Josh Smith, Orlando Magic

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http://slamonline.com nbk

See I don’t see any reason to think LeBron is a worse leader then Rose, just because his entire team underperformed against boston? Or because he left? (and by leaving he is not their leader, its not a family that is left without a father, its a business, where a better business opportunity came up. Its called improving your life, not disappointing your followers) From what I’ve seen from LeBron as a leader, Homecourt in atleast the first round of the playoffs for 5(?) straight years despite constant personnel changes, a severly undertalented supporting cast, and this year in Miami (which would have been an absolute disappointment had they won less then 52 games, let alone not having homecourt, so that doesn’t really count). His teammates love him, he stands up for them and defends them. Never says anything negative about them. He doesn’t lead his coach, if he thinks his coach is making a mistake its his job as a leader to voice that, not Mario Chalmers. (doing it publicly is the issue IMO, but he did the “decision” so maybe he just doesn’t get that some things aren’t meant to be public?) – really all the knocks against LeBron as a leader have almost nothing to do with what he and his teams do on the court, but how “diva-ish” he is, off it.
http://jojo.com Max

Since when are Rose and Lebron on the Magic or Hawks?
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

See, you guys are equating being the best player with being the leader of a team, and I don’t agree with that at all.
I think Derek Fisher is the leader of the Lakers.
I think Jason Kidd is the leader of the Mavs.
I think Shane Battier and Tony Allen are the leaders of the Grizzlies.
And so on.
LeBron’s an amazing talent, and he’s been the best player on his team everywhere he’s gone, including Miami.
But he’s not a leader.
http://bulls.com airs

hold up. so if you’re going to judge how great a leader he is when he’s up against adversity/disappointment, what happens if somebody does not disappoint? or has to go thru as much adversity? is it his fault that he didn’t create a media frenzy or is it his fault that his team is rolling right now, because of him? im kind of unsure what your measuring stick is right now, nbk
Eddie

@airs, bulls will lose round 1. They’ll fall behind this week and hit the panic button. I’m telling you now. Whether or not you choose to believe or mock is up to you. God bless, EDDIE
http://slamonline.com nbk

well airs, what NBA player has ever gone their whole career exceeding expectations? the answer is none, its rhetorical. So until then, I can’t consider Rose a better leader then LeBron, he just hasn’t been through enough. Rose’s demeanor and ego are better then LeBron’s, but if I wanted someone to lead me through the playoffs into a championship between the two, I would pick LeBron. Plus as much of a student of the game as he seems to be (LeBron) I doubt Rose understands as much about being a leader in those types of pressure packed situations (like any round of the playoffs after the 1st). I value winning maybe to a fault, which is why I feel suddenly in the minority when I say Rose is still only the 3rd best PG in the league. (and I’m not sorry we talk about Rose everyday, his situation is unique, and has many many layers, just for all you that complain that we talk about the same thing on the reg)
JTaylor21

Enigmatic, ummmm didn’t you just say that Rose is far and away a better leader than Bron? Which would make him a great leader because regardless of how you may feel about Bron’s off the court bs, dude is a great on the court leader.
He’s a great vocal leader as evidence by what his coaches and teammates on Team USA said. He was the one voice that everyone listened to on defense, what he does is similar to what KG brings to Bos defense. I would bet that if his heat teammates and coaches would say that same thing.
http://slamonline.com nbk

Kobe Bryant is the leader of the Lakers, Derek Fisher is the calming presence. If your not being led by your best player you aren’t winning. I believe I read this is “the art of war” but its never right for a leader to defer any kind of leadership responsibilities that lead is subordinates to question who the “leader” is (i worded that wrong, but its basically, the leader should be the person who decides what happens on the court, not the guy who watches and waits to see if maybe they get involved.)
JTaylor21

*if asked*
http://slamonline.com nbk

i’m sorry about the typos fellas, figure it out. haha
http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

I have to disagree with you there, Enigmatic. LeBron seems to be a really effective leader, actually. There’s no way you can say that he’s a sh!tty leader–the way he rallies his teammates during timeouts or even during a stopped play for a huddle, and the way he gets everyone involved. He’s well-like by his teammates and he’s patient, ie. never throwing his teammates under the bus (at least I don’t think he’s done it). I really don’t see how you can think he’s not a good leader–on the court, at least. That camera/dancing crap is irrelevant to what he actually does on the court, and it probably does help with team chemistry, believe it or not. Like a very elaborate chest bump, lol.
http://bulls.com airs

okay, i got you. but what about a player who, if not exceeded, has met most, if not all expectations.
up until this season i dont think there’s been an expectation dwyane wade hasn’t either met or exceeded. he came back from injury and played great while people expected less, hell they probably didn’t expect a championship from him when they won it.
i dont think there will ever be a player who exceeds every expectation, but im sure there are who have met it.
i think it’s fair to say we’ve expected a championship from bron by now and still hasn’t happened, so im still kinda lost on your point. maybe its just me understanding, im actually sure it is, haha.
http://bulls.com airs

misunderstanding*
http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

Also, LeBron has a pretty damn good track record as being the leader and only All-Star on his team for years. Bringing his team to the finals and leading his team to the best record in the NBA–those are some impressive feats right there, even if he hasn’t won a chip yet.
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

I hate when comments won’t post.
http://slamonline.com nbk

well I didn’t expect a title from LeBron until he got out of Cleveland. ANd going into this season I would have bet money that it ended with Boston and LA again. But since the Perkins trade, idk, Miami is a playoff monster that will, in every series but MAYBE one, have the 2 best players at all times, which in basketball, the playoffs especially is huge. – Wade has had injury riddled seasons, he has missed the playoffs, he was supposed to challenge LeBron for MVP every season, but he has trouble staying healthy, which is not what was expected. – Its just adversity really, and Rose hasn’t had any real adversity in the NBA. I am prepared to say Rose is on pace to be a better leader then LeBron but that goes back to personality more then what they provide on the court at similar ages, because LeBron was still great then. (and he’s always been a better, more vocal defender, which is IMO the most important role for a leader on a basketball team other then experience/failure/success (all three))
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

nbk -You can’t quote Sun Tzu when we’re talking about basketball.
In war, yeah, you better know who your commander is and you don’t question your commander or take the orders from someone else above theirs’.
In sports, you can have more than one leader on the team.
It’s ok, no one’s gonna get killed out there. Trust me.
http://bulls.com airs

@ teddy, the photo that pops up when i click your name has made my day oh so much better. not that it was bad to begin with, but thank you brother.
http://www.t00nish.com Grant

Just give Dwight Howard the ball people. It’s the smart thing to do.
JTaylor21

Enigmatic, since bron is not the on the court leader of the heat, who is?
http://slamonline.com nbk

ahh depends on your philosophy matic. Me personally, I think of every basketball game as a war. I am not trying to say its anything close or anything like that, i’m not taking anything away from anyone in the services, i just go about winning like if i lose, i’m dead. And in my personal experience its always best if you best player is your team leader. you don’t want a game to end and your leader looking at everyone in the locker room trying to say something when really what can they say? how can they lead from that point? the game was decided (we won/lost doesn’t matter) and our leader had literally nothing to do with it. He played, but he just stood in the corner. We as the team know he didn’t really contribute to the win, so are we goin to look at his as our “leader”? and if we lost, is he really gonna try and criticize something? your our leader, you just let it happen. It can’t work like that, that’s not a leader, unless its the kind with pom poms. That’s how I see it, and was raised to see it as a competitive basketball player
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

JTaylor – Mario Chalmers.
No?
….Joel Anthony?
Nah, in seriousness, it’s a toss-up between LeBron and Wade. I’ve seen LeBron get up in his guys’ a**es when they’re playing bad, and I love to see that, but I don’t know.
At the same time I don’t remember him ever taking the blame for any of his missed potential game-winners, and to me that’s just not right.
If I’m wrong about that, my bad, but like I said, I don’t remember him ever saying “my fault, guys, this loss is on me”, which Rose has done many times this season, even when it could be argued that it wasn’t his fault.
nbk – yeah, I never like It when athletes talk about “we’re going to war” or “it’s going to be a battle” or whatever.
LeBron and Kobe are notorious for it.
I don’t see it as disrespectful, because I know for a fact they’re not trying to downplay what the military does (shout out to the Heat organization for all they’ve done for the military this season, BTW) but it just makes me laugh and roll my eyes.
Cause war is war, and there’s nothing on this planet that’s comparable to being in a war, in my opinion.
Plus most these dudes would be shook as f*ck if they were the boots on the ground.
http://slamonline.com nbk

ignorance is bliss matic. Me as a person who will never be in war, (by choice which seems to suffice) I will never know what its like, so saying we are going to war is the only language I have to explain what I feel like i’m going into. (you get what I mean?) its like people saying the ancients didn’t have the language to explain a “flying saucer” so they called it a “chariot of fire”(just an analogy, i know you want to start a debate Philo, if your here) – so to me basketball games are like going to war, even though I know, if I ever went to war, a basketball game is the last thing I would compare it to.
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

Well, the one aspect where I would compare a basketball game to a battle is on the sidelines.
Military leaders strategize and design “plays” just like basketball coaches.
Reconnaissance teams and Intel units gather information on the enemy just like scouts.
Also, to be clear, I don’t think war is always just country vs. country, or some military conflict.
The drug war’s a war.
Gang wars are wars.
Sh*t, an alcoholic trying to quit is at war with himself.
A five-on-five pickup game with your mans and em at the rec is not a war. Lol
http://slamonline.com nbk

I realize. Although I treat it as such, which is probably why my rep is to not bring me around for casual games. My competitive “nature” is my issue with almost all aspects of life. Be it trying to destroy my mother in a game of Yahtzee or playing a championship game at the local gym. don’t matter i’m always the same. and its a problem
JTaylor21

Enigmatic, you need to get your ears checked or maybe you conveniently suffered through a case of amnesia when he stated to the media that he told his teammates “he would not fail them in the clutch again”. It seems like people choose to ignore certain things that pertains to a player they dislike, it’s something that people do all the time without knowing.
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

And was that after the fifth or seventh time he “failed them in the clutch again”?
What about the other times?
Did he make any such statements then?
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

And I dislike LeBron now?
Did my screen name change to Kap, The Seed, or Bryan Crawford?
I just call a spade a spade.
http://slamonline.com nbk

When does Kobe apologize for what he does in the clutch? when did Michael apologize or say anything about losing being his fault? What you say to the media has nothing to do with the caliber of leader you are in the lockerroom/on the court. Because LeBron didn’t say “this loss was on me” every time he screwed up is that going to change anything with his teammates? are they going to look at him as a lesser player because he didn’t admit to the world that it was his fault his team lost? that doesn’t really make any sense to me, those guys have their or relationships and conversations on a daily basis, what one guy says or actually doesn’t say to the media in a 5 minute interview is completely, 100% irrelevant to how that player leads the team in games and preparing for them.
http://slamonline.com nbk

have their own*
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

I’m sorry, nbk, I’m still struggling with the image of you threatening to put hands on your moms for losing to her in Yahtzee, lol
Don’t do it! Be nice to the ol’ earth, or like Mr. T said, “Treat Your Mother Right”!
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

In other words, I got nothing. The more I speak on why I think LeBron isn’t an effective leader, the more I come off as a LeBron-basher, which I’m not.
JTaylor21

Ok, whatever. This is the first season Rose has showcased good leadership while Bron has been a great/vocal leader for the past 6 yrs, end of story.
http://Slamonline.com Nbk

I am not looking at you as a bron basher, just a clearly different opinion on what makes a good leader in basketball
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

Moving on though…how much is Jerry Reinsdorf paying Ric Bucher????
JTaylor21

I heard he promised him a statue of his own in front of United Center.
Why you asking?
http://Slamonline.com Nbk

If you read that chat it would put u under the assumption Bucher has a Derrick Rose wall paper on his computer.
http://Slamonline.com Nbk

And I would like to say I enjoy the commenting section over the last month. Not many people taking others opinions personally, it’s kinda nice.
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

Because before we brought up “HE WHO MUST NOT BE BAD-MOUTHED”’s leadership skills, this whole thing kicked off cause Bucher was talking reckless about Rose being the best player in the NBA.
Derrick Rose wallpaper on his computer?
Or Derrick Rose wallpaper on his walls at home? lol
JTaylor21

Yo enigmatic, you could bad-mouth dude all you want, I could care less. It’s not like I personally know dude or I go to sleep crying at night in my “rose” colored snuggie over people talking bad about him.
http://Slamonline.com Nbk

Either or, and some addidas, a “because I’m fast” t-shirt. And a Memphis sweater. He might even have a rose tattooed on his ankle
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

JT, you care, my dude.
You care cause you pounce on anyone who writes anything negative about him on here, without fail.
It’s all good, I often do the same when someone talks sh*t about D Rose, and you know that.
But I don’t deny it, you do.
You ain’t gotta lie to kick it!
nbk, how bout an ESPN Napoleon Dynamite “Every Rose Has It’s….Horns” shirt.
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

A “The Great Poohdini” t shirt.
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

He got the same gold track suit Slim Chin was rockin in those “Fast Don’t Lie” ads.
JTaylor21

Enigmatic, maybe you’re right. Anyways, what does everyone’s award picks look like?
MVP- DRose
DPOY- KG
ROY- BGriff
MIP- DRose
COY- Thibs
Sixth Man- LO
http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

MVP – Derrick Rose
DPOY – Tony Allen
ROY – Blake Griffin
MIP – Derrick Rose
COY – Tom Thibodeau
6th Man – Thaddeus Young
http://Slamonline.com Nbk

Rose – Howard – Wall (Griffin shouldn’t be eligible) – Rose – Thibs – Odom
http://dsjkflf.com Jukai

All-NBA:
First team: Rose, Wade, Lebron, Amare, Dwight
Second team: Williams, Bryant, Durant, Griffin, Aldridge
Third team: Parker, Ginobili, Melo, Nowitzki, I have no damn clue.
JTaylor21

All-NBA:
First- Rose/Wade/Bron/KD/DHow
Second- Paul/KB/Melo/Dirk/Amare
Third- Rondo/Westbrook/BGriff/LA/Gasol
All-Defense:
First- Rondo/TAllen/GHill/KG/DHow
Second- Paul/Wade/Brewer/Bron/Bogut
JoeMaMa

@the end-of-season lists: DHoward should be the DPOY. Good lists…but it’s really tough to argue against Dwight Howard as any less than the best defensive player in the league.

Josh Smith Motivated By Jameer Nelson’s Boast

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