Off Day Links About Off Days And Other Subjects

Scott Skiles on the three full days off between Games 2 and 3:

"I think it’s a factor. Probably one team will adjust to that better than the other and I would say that team probably deserves the game if they get it because they can adjust to kind of getting out of their rhythm a little bit."

Josh Smith, you might have heard, finds the off day entertainment options in Milwaukee lacking.

On-day news concerning Josh Smith, from the mouth Luc Richard Mbah a Moute:

"Josh has been hurting us a little bit, and I see myself being on him a little bit now. Coach has got a good game plan, and we'll see how it goes."

Skiles on Smith:

"Josh had nine field goals, one in the post and one on a jump shot. The other seven were on lob dunks after timeouts, two on offensive rebounds."

Skiles, continued:

"They're not going down in the post over and over again. hey're picking and popping Kurt more than anything else, and they've had an after-timeout play mixed in for him as well. About 60% of their offense comes in the first 10 to 12 seconds of the shot clock. We've got to get them in more low-clock situations, which we've struggled to do so far."

You really don't need me at this point.

Henry Abbott sings the praises of Josh Smith at TrueHoop:

Only Jason Richardson has a playoff PER better than Atlanta's super-athlete, who is more than proving people wrong for that All-Star snub. He has made 15 of 21 shots, and is among the league's leaders in two hugely important categories: field goal and rebounding percentage. In his 72 minutes, he has also had 13 assists, six blocks and just two turnovers. All of the Hawks starters have amazing plus/minus numbers so far, and Smith is no exception -- the Hawks have been about 40 points better per 100 possessions when he's in the game.

As does John Hollinger (Insider):

One of the most questionable All-Star snubs in recent years, Smith has provided even more momentum for his cause with a dominant first two games against Milwaukee and a second-place finish in the league's Defensive Player of the Year voting.

The Bucks are down 2-0 because they can't match up with Smith without Andrew Bogut. With defensive ace Luc Richard Mbah a Moute assigned to Atlanta leading scorer Joe Johnson, the Bucks are defending Smith with players who are either too small or too slow to check him.

The Hawks bench, on the other hand:

The Hawks have been a very strong team so far -- it's nearly impossible to imagine they'll lose in the first-round, which you can't say about many teams. But make no mistake, it's because of their starters...Their backups, however, have been bad. Bret Lagree of Hoopinion: "The Hawks bench is a collective nine of 32 from the floor with 12 rebounds, six assists, and seven turnovers in 150 minutes. Zaza Pachulia, Joe Smith and Jeff Teague all have negative PERs through two games."

Maybe you do need me, after all. Take that, Skiles!

Brandon Jennings has set a realistic Game 3 goal for himself:

"I'm going to try not to get my shots blocked as many times as I did."

Soaring Down South has excerpts from Lawrence Frank's discussion of the Hawks on the NBA Today podcast*.

*I'm still waiting to be asked back.