FanHouse: Moore: Josh Smith, the Talisman of the Atlanta Hawks

I'm skipping most of the Hawks previews being published around the web on 1) the principle of not saying anything when I don't have something nice to say and 2) anyone who wants to read about Marvin Williams "regressing" last year or how the Hawks replaced a 12.2 PPG sixth-man with a 19.7 PPG sixth-man (And, hey, that means they're seven-and-a-half points better right there, right?) probably doesn't want advice from me in the first place.

And there I've gone and violated #1.

Here's a good season preview piece on Josh Smith written by Matt Moore of FanHouse and Hardwood Paroxysm fame:

This year, as every year, is an opportunity for Smith to make that jump to elite. And we're sorry if we keep saying it over and over again, but there's nowhere else to go. Josh Smith is too good, too talented, too awesome to give up, and too flawed, too mercurial, too inconsistent not to criticize. Our frustration stems not from what Smith isn't doing for us, but the longing for the fulfillment of what he teases every time he steps on the floor. Everyone wants Smith to be everything he can be. We're just not sure what that is yet.

But it does make Josh Smith the talisman of the Atlanta Hawks.