Josh Smith, Woodson address feud

It’s almost too easy to wipe the smile off Hawks coach Mike Woodson’s face on this day.

Two words do it instantly: Josh Smith.

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ALLEN SULLIVAN/aesullivan@ajc.com

It’s not the smoothest of relationships between Josh Smith (left) and coach Mike Woodson, but things are working out on the court for the Hawks.

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And not for the reasons you think. Woodson and Smith insist their relationship is fine two weeks removed from their latest dustup. A shouting match in the locker room at halftime of a March 6 game in Charlotte was so bad that Woodson benched Smith the entire second half.

“I want to set the record straight about this one last time,” Woodson said, tugging at the neck of shirt and leaning forward in his chair. “This is not now, and has never been, about me hating Josh or Josh hating me. It’s not a personal thing. We get along just fine.”

Except for all those times they don’t.

Woodson and Smith are five years into an arranged marriage that’s seen as many bad times as good. It’s a relationship that’s generated as much rumor and innuendo in basketball circles as Chris Brown and Rihanna have in the entertainment world.

Yet for all their differences, Woodson and Smith are similar. Neither has terribly thick skin, nor do they suffer the opinions of those they don’t respect. Both are as stubborn as a summer day is long.

But it’s not a love-hate thing, Smith said.

“People try to blow it out of proportion,” he said. “But if you’re not on the inside looking at it, you can only guess what kind of relationship you think we have. Players and coaches might disagree a lot and have their differences. At the end of the day, though, we still treat this as a work environment.

“We don’t come in here and turn our noses up at each other. We joke and have fun now like we always have in the past. This isn’t about two people hating each other. It’s not a personal thing like that. We just agree to disagree on some things.”

Player-coach dynamic

The fact is, both men are in love with the same girl. Her name is basketball.

Woodson’s been in a trance over her for more than three decades. Smith’s crush, every bit as intense, is still in the formative stage.

When those matching passions bump heads is when things tend to go awry — as they did in Philadelphia two years ago.

Woodson called a play late in the game against the 76ers for Tyronn Lue. Smith didn’t agree. After a profane outburst in the huddle, Smith was sent to the showers. He was suspended two games for insubordination the next day.

“They’ve had some tussles,” Hawks captain Joe Johnson said with a smile. “Too many to count. But it’s only a problem when something happens.”

Things happen with Woodson and others players, too. He’s had rough relationships with players — Boris Diaw, Salim Stoudamire and Anthony Johnson, to name three — that never resulted in the blow-ups he and Smith have had.

The common denominator in all those situations was a frayed player-coach dynamic that doesn’t exist between Woodson and all his players.

During last Sunday’s blowout win over Portland, point guard Mike Bibby drew Woodson’s ire. On a 4-on-1 break he pulled up for a jumper and missed. Woodson lost it on the sideline and shouted at Bibby, who by then was on the other end of the floor. Bibby shouted something back and Woodson fumed for another 30 seconds before everything went back to normal.

Had that player been Smith, the fallout likely would have lasted longer and been far more contentious.

Woodson disagreed.

“You can’t compare it,” he said. “Bibby didn’t curse me out. Or tell me that the play should be for someone else, like Josh did in Philadelphia when we suspended him. It’s like what happened in Charlotte. But it ended that night.”

Talking it out

Woodson said he and Smith sat down the day after the Charlotte incident. They hashed out their differences and agreed to move on.

“You’re going to find in coaching that these things happen,” Woodson said. “I was challenged for four years at [the University of] Indiana. And not once did I ever waver in terms of who I was as a player or person, on and off the court. But when I stepped on that floor, I knew what [coach] Bob Knight wanted done. And that’s all I’m trying to get these guys to understand. I want them to know I’m in their corner and I want to win. That’s it.”

Hawks veteran reserve Flip Murray reminded Smith that the Hawks are in the midst of their best season in more than a decade. They don’t need distractions.

“You’ve got to sit down and talk that stuff out,” Murray said he told Smith. “Because we got to get that stuff right. It’s too close to the playoffs for that stuff. We all have to get on the same page and get things right. It is what it is. But you can’t let it take you down.”

Smith has played lights out since the Charlotte incident. He has averaged 17.3 points, 10 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 blocks as the Hawks reeled off seven straight home wins.

“These past few games,” Smith said, “if you notice, a lot of that hard stuff hasn’t been said, and you see the results. That’s all I ask for. I know you’re going to get on me when you need to, because I’ve still got a lot to learn and a lot of growing to do. But if you leave me alone a little bit … it’s just easier to do your job that way.”