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The Atlanta Hawks pulled off a shocking upset in the first round of this year’s playoffs by defeating the Orlando Magic in six games. Yet, attempting to locate anyone outside of a hardcore Hawks fan who predicted the victory would be an extremely difficult task.

So it came as no surprise heading into their second round matchup versus the Chicago Bulls the Hawks were once again given very little chance to advance. After all, the Bulls finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, boast the league’s Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year and Atlanta starting point guard Kirk Hinrich is expected to the miss the entire series.

But after two games, the series is tied 1-1 heading back to Atlanta and the Hawks haven’t been thoroughly outclassed as expected. In fact, the team has clearly demonstrated they belong in the same weight class as Chicago.

Unfortunately for Atlanta there has been a glaring hole in their lineup and it has nothing to do with an injury suffered in their backcourt.

Josh Smith, one of the club’s three team captains and core contributors, has been plagued by bouts of both mental and physical lapses throughout the series.

"I was [ticked] off at myself," Smith told Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the Hawks dropped game two 86-73 in Chicago. "I understand what I need to do to be more effective with this ballclub, especially at the offensive end. I think Game 3 will be a different look for me."

The Hawks have surprisingly hung with the Bulls step-for-step despite starting seldom used point guard Jeff Teague due to Hinrich’s injury and the fact Smith has been totally ineffective.

For the series, Smith is averaging 10.5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2.5 turnovers.

Despite the strong blocked shot production, Smith’s numbers are pedestrian for someone possessing his overall talent potential (16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds during 2011 regular season).

One of the most alarming trends has been Smith’s ineffectiveness on the offensive side of the ball. For the series he’s shooting a woeful 28 percent (7-of-25) from the floor and has missed all three attempts from beyond the arc. In game two, there were multiple signs of mental lapses demonstrated by his four untimely turnovers.

The blocked shots also tell a different story as they’re the direct result of Smith routinely finding himself out of position throughout the series but able to salvage some of the transgressions because of his stellar athleticism.

Its obvious Smith knows he’s in a bit of funk, not playing with the same focus of the regular season and is also annoyed by his recent play. 

"Turnovers, a couple of unforced errors on my part, maybe a couple of untimely shots. Just a couple–maybe one or two," Smith added on the recent slip in his game. "It is just frustrating because I know I can give this team a little bit more on the offensive end. Right now I am not doing my part on that end. I know I have got to do more and be efficient like I’ve been all season."

{AUTHOR_BOX} Shot selection has been a long running source of frustration for Hawks fans when it comes to Smith. The seventh year veteran has been known to have a penchant for loitering on the perimeter despite possessing significant advantages over the majority of guys who are assigned to defend him.

To Smith’s credit he did shoot a career-high 33 percent from long range during the regular season and his jump shot has shown tremendous growth in recent years. However finding the appropriate field goal attempt mix to maximize his effectiveness is often the sticking point when it comes to his game.

"That is something that he has to figure out as a player," Hawks All-Star center Al Horford said. "If he does, that would show growth. I feel like he’s been growing every year but when he gets that he is going to be on a good position."

After game two Hawks head coach Larry Drew didn’t narrow the subject of bad shot selection down to one player in particular, but it’s clear he wants his club taking more shots in high percentage areas.

"We did a very bad first half of our shot selection and it carried over pretty much the rest of the game," Drew said. "We had opportunity after opportunity but we were our own biggest enemy on the offensive end. We just did not do a good job executing, we took bad shots, we did not execute. When our shots didn’t fall, we kind of hit the panic button and everyone tried to do it themselves. You can’t do that in playoff basketball."

The Hawks are hanging in there nip and tuck versus the heavily favored Bulls, but with the relatively unproven Teague matched up against league MVP Derrick Rose, Chicago scheming to specifically to stop leading scorer Joe Johnson and Horford being pushed to limit by former college teammate Joakim Noah inside the Hawks will need Smith to break out of this slump if advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals is in their future.

Speaking of Jeff Teague …

After the Bulls struggled more than expected against the eighth seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round and the Hawks pulled off their upset versus Orlando, Atlanta was slowly emerging as a slight sleeper pick versus Chicago or at the very least, most expected the series to be highly competitive.

But when the Hawks announced veteran guard Kirk Hinrich would likely miss the series due to injury, popular opinion shifted dramatically to the Bulls.

The Hawks traded for Hinrich, sending starting point guard Mike Bibby to Washington at the deadline to shore up their perimeter defense. It also signaled the franchise wasn’t ready to give the keys to the offense to second year guard Jeff Teague.

However, sometimes guys just play better without having to look over their shoulders constantly.

With Hinrich out and no one else on the bench to worry about draining his minutes Teague has performed admirably against MVP Derrick Rose.

"It’s the playoffs you have to go out there and be confident," Teague told the media after game two. "If you go out there second guessing yourself, you’ll get lost. I’m just going out there trying to play and be effective to help my team win."

Effective Teague has definitely been – offensively and defensively.

The former Wake Forest standout is averaging 15.5 points, 4 assists and 2 steals on 48 percent shooting through the first two games of the series against Chicago. This is after only playing a combined nine minutes in the Hawks’ six game first-round triumph over Orlando.

But it’s not just offensive precision.

Teague has also played a key role in limiting Rose’s efficiency from the field. Rose is shooting 39 percent (21-of-54) from the field. He has also helped limit the accuracy of sharpshooting guard Kyle Korver on the perimeter (25 percent / 4-of-16).

"It’s a lot of responsibility on my part," Teague added.

Teague entered the season expected to compete for the team’s starting point guard role but was used inconsistently as the season progressed.

One thing is for certain, if he keeps playing this loose and effective versus one of the league’s best players he’ll enter training camp later this year with another opportunity to secure that spot.

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