Josh Smith Responds To "Crazy Bandwagon Columnist" Who Guaranteed Hawks Would Blow Series Lead

Three days ago, when the Atlanta Hawks were leading the Orlando Magic three games to two in their series, Mike Bianchi of the wrote a column that predicted the Hawks would squander the lead and that included the phrase "Call me a crazy bandwagon columnist." So we'll go ahead and call him a crazy bandwagon columnist.

"Watch now as Orlando turns the Atlanta Hawks into the Atlanta Birdbrains," Bianchi wrote. He went on to declare that Alanta is still "Team Dummy" and predicted that the "Magic are going to win this series and the Birdbrains are going to fold up and collapse like a $5 lawn chair":

Make no mistake about it, the Hawks now return to Atlanta for Game 6 Thursday night with the pressure squarely on their shaky shoulders. And let's face it, these wildly erratic loony birds are far from a sure thing at home, where New Orleans blew them out by 41 points earlier this season.

Instead, the Hawks won last night, 84-81, and will advance to the second round for a third straight year.

Fox Sports asked a gleeful Josh Smith about the digs last night, and he sounded off for a second time. Smith's stat line from last night isn't anything remarkable, but he did deliver the two plays of the game: first, he threw down this beautifully crafted fast-break dunk with four Magic defenders surrounding him, and then he swatted away Jason Richardson's three-point attempt as time expired. He deserved, then, his own dig at Bianchi.

We'll allow that "in your face!" is nearly as nerdy an insult as "birdbrain" — but the difference is that Smith delivers his with unadulterated, second-round joy, while Bianchi sounds like an insipid bully bored with his job.

Video via.