Hawks Owner Calls Josh Smith 'Closest Thing to LeBron'

Filed under: Bucks, Hawks, Playoffs

ATLANTA -- No need to move over, LeBron. You'll still be the marquee attraction during these NBA playoffs.

But let us introduce the world to LeBron South. You might not know much about him since the Hawks play in the NBA outpost of Atlanta. Even though they're located just down the road from the Turner studios, they rarely get on TNT during the regular season.

On Tuesday night, their Game 2 of an East first-round series was relegated to NBA TV. That network also is based in Atlanta, but you get the point.

For those who missed it, it was a scintillating show by Hawks forward Josh Smith. He had a near triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the 96-86 win over Milwaukee for a 2-0 series lead.

"He's the closest thing to LeBron in the league,'' Hawks owner Michael Gearon Jr. said in an interview after the game with FanHouse. "I'm not saying he's LeBron. But just look, he gets assists, he rebounds, he blocks shots. He's a game changer. ... Just look at his stats.''

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/04/21/hawks-owner-calls-josh-smith-closest-thing-to-lebron/