Josh Smith Wants to Set the Tone

Earlier this week we heard news out of Atlanta that Josh Smith was throwing things around after being called out by Mike Woodson in practice. Is Woodson already losing his best player before the season starts? Hardly. Smith told reporters the next day that his reaction was orchestrated to get a rise out of everyone.

Practical joke or not, it seems he took the message to heart: he scored the first bucket last night on an alley-oop just seconds after the Hawks won the tip, and he immediately came through on the other end with a block. After the game, I spoke to him about the heightened expectations that come with signing a big contract.

Matt Watson: In the first 30 seconds you came through with an alley-oop and a block. Were you trying to come out and make a statement, or did it just work out that way?

Josh Smith: The lob worked out that way, but I definitely wanted to bring more energy. I know when I create energy from the beginning of the game that it carries on to my teammates. You know, we sat down and had a talk about what [coach Woodson] wanted me to do and I let him know that I was frustrated, because I felt like I was letting my teammates down. I understand that its preseason, but it definitely carries over to the regular season. And I wanted to come out here with great intensity -- you [saw] in the first couple of quarters that it carried on that everybody was active on the defensive end. We looked more active than we did throughout the whole preseason in this one game.

Matt Watson: Do you think you're expected to take on more of a larger role to kind of set the tone now that you have the big contract?

Josh Smith: Most definitely. I had that role for two years now, and I'm taking it on my shoulders. I understand what's at stake and I'm ready to step up, I'm ready to step up. Obviously the contract got me more leadership on the team, but I look forward for my teammates to count on me in a clutch situation where I'm the energy guy.

Matt Watson: How much does the playoff run from last year feed into what you guys want to do this year?

Josh Smith: It definitely feeds in a lot. It definitely gave us confidence. We didn't have the easiest (preseason) schedule in the world coming out of the gate, but I think adding Maurice Evans and Flip Murray helps out a whole lot, definitely with the growth of the team and just them having experience. It definitely helped us out a lot to be able to take the world champs to seven games, and we know that if we can play with those guys, we can play on a consistent basis throughout the whole season.