Feb. 19, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard J. R. Smith (8) and New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (17) wait for the ball during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 104-97. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

1) The Hawks were dealt a huge blow early on in the season when Al Horford got hurt. How has this team managed to be so successful without him?

Well, “successful” is a word I’ll use loosely. Yes, they are 12-9 since Al Horford went down, but most of those wins came against teams with losing records. Since Horford went out, they are 9-1 against teams with losing records and only 3-8 against teams with winning records. But to get back to the question, Josh Smith has really carried this Atlanta Hawks team since Al Horford went down. That’s why it bothers me so much that he’s not an All-star, because if there is one Hawks player that deserves it, it’s Josh Smith. There aren’t many forwards in the East that are doing more than him right now.

2) With Joe Johnson apparently a no-go, which player do you expect to step up against the Knicks?

Josh Smith. He’s been the player that the Hawks have been asking to carry the load since Al Horford went down, and with Joe Johnson now out for the game too, you can bet that Josh Smith is feeling that he has to step up even more now. Will he step up and carry the entire team to a win? That’s up in the air. I can’t think of many games that Josh Smith has single-handedly carry the Hawks to a win. 

 If I had to choose another player that has a possibility of having a good game, it’s Jeff Teague. Teague has shown at times, when he’s playing aggressive, that he can be a pretty a good scorer. Also, I know Jeremy Lin is pretty quick himself, but Jeff Teague should be able to get by “Super Lin-tendo” pretty easily tonight. As you and your readers know, Jeremy Lin isn’t exactly a top tier defensive player.

3) What is the biggest key to tonight’s game for the Hawks?

Ball movement. The Hawks don’t have an active go-to player on the roster right now (since Joe Johnson is out). Josh Smith can be a good scorer, but he’s not someone that I can say is a go-to player. The team needs to take the offensive approach of a Denver Nuggets or San Antonio Spurs team tonight. Neither the Spurs or Nuggets have a go-to player, but they play well offensively because they move the ball around and get contribution from many different players. There isn’t a Kobe Bryant or a Kevin Durant or a Dirk Nowitzki on this team right now….the Hawks will really hurt themselves if they try to play an offense like they have a great scorer.

Read more from William over at SoaringDownSouth.com/ or follow him @WillSevidalSDS

Also check out my portion of the Q & A by clicking here.

Evaluating players before the draft is not easy, but at least you know who you are talking about. Predicting who is going to get picked when is harder. Everyone has their own ranking system, but the big question is whether a team is going to pick the best player available or pick the player who best addresses the team’s needs.

The other question is, what on earth was that GM thinking? The most recent “what was he thinking” award goes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, for using the 5th and 6th draft picks on point guards (Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio), followed by having one of them (Rubio) make noises that he would never play for the Wolves, and creating a situation where the other, Flynn, felt unsure of the team’s commitment to him, and for good reason.

So for me to say who will make which pick is guesswork, because every year there are inexplicable decisions made, and there are players drafted in the top 20 whose name you hear when he is selected, but then never again. Comparing mock drafts, I have seen players’ names move twenty spots or more.

Mostly, I’m seeing mocks that describe players, not why they will be picked or what the team is thinking. I already wrote about the players likely to be drafted in the first round, so instead, lets’ discuss what the team should do, not what they will do, because many teams have a weird tendency to pick the same type of player over and over regardless of the results. (Lakers trying to find a point guard, Bulls drafting post players, Houston drafting 3’s, Warriors drafting skilled bigs, etc.) Redundancy makes sense for some teams, but for others it’s stupid. I’ll take those case by case.
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