The Hawks are freakishly young. Of the five guys getting the most minutes, the oldest is Joe Johnson who's 26 and less than a year older than Parker. Yeah, they're still a below average basketball team, but at least their fans have something to dream about.
Josh Smith, who turns 22 in December, has shown statistical improvement every year and currently sits at 19 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.4 steals and 3.6 blocks per game. That adds up to a PER of 23.5, higher than Tim Duncan's. I highlight Smith because he's the exact type of player the Spurs have trouble with: the long, athletic three. I presume Pop would put Bowen on Johnson (which I agree with), leaving Finley / Manu / Barry to guard Smith. Looking at his stats on 82games.com, his eFG% on jump shots last year was 31.6%. This year it's 28.2% I'm thinking we should let him shoot the outside shot and pray we can keep him off the offensive glass. And, if the game gets out of hand, let's just give a couple breakaways, mmmkay?