Not sure what all the commotion is about, Smith is Smith. Going to flash like a superstar at times, then turn around and do something silly. He is who he is. However he seems to be playing really effective alongside Brewer, Terry, and KPap. When they are on the floor, the mistakes are.hidden with the efforts of them flying around and pushing the pace. It's still January
Spot on!!! You don't know what you're going to get from either of them. Also, I don't worry about the regular season. Who starts at PF depends on the matchups. The biggest concerns of the Rockets is Lamarcus, Dirk, Zbo, Ibaka, (I think Josh is the better defender with the worse bball IQ).
Lol Jalen is really lacking in the basketball knowledge area of expertise. He is really knowledgable about the behind the scenes stuff, but as far as talent evaluation is he awful. Literally tried fo convince people that Rubio is a turnstile on defense. He decided that just because he never played defense in his career, it makes him an expert talent evaluator which is absurd.
Smith is playing better for the Rockets than expected in terms of his overall shooting. He's committing way too many turnovers though, turning the ball over at the highest rate per 36 minutes in his career. He's also shooting too many 3s, shooting them at the third highest frequency of his career while making them at the 2nd worst clip of his career. (DYK: Josh Smith had a season of shooting 0% from three! Only took 7 lol) Still, small sample size and he's making his 2s at a much better rate right now. It's not horrible. I'd still replace him with TJones though if I could.
I agree with this. Jones has been outstanding off of the bench. He was horrible in the starting line-up but has been great off of the bench.
If we are talking about playoffs, Smith is more valuable off the bench than TJones because of his post defense. Who cares about reg. season... If Jones plays in playoffs this year, it'll be due to injuries up front or foul trouble.
True if you're looking at Jones' defense in a vacuum, but very, very few big men are polished defenders as a rookie. And in terms of NBA minutes played Jones is essentially still a rookie. Victor Oladipo had more career minutes played even before TJ's injury. Jones blocks shots well. He's a good athlete. He's not a bonehead. He'll develop into at least an average defender by his prime. I don't claim to have the answers to the questions Houston will face with all 3 PFs healthy, but let's not write off Jones based on an issue that every young guy faces.
He's knowledgeable about player lives off the court, but not really the basketball stuff. I remember last year I stopped listening to his podcasts because every single episode he'd talk about how awesome Riley, Jackson, Pop, and Bird are. How they are brains of the NBA. Well, Riley lost LeBron, overpaid Bosh, and Jackson is presiding over a laughingstock. Very overrated basketball guy. Champagne and Campaign? That stuff is absolute gold.
I think this is accurate, but I could see him a little if fouls become a problem (if Aldridge has a repeat of last year). Regarding Smith, I like most of what he is doing, but I don't think I'll ever get used to that driving/running/floating hook shot. WTF is that? Does anyone else in the league do that? That said, now that I've gotten used to seeing it, I don't cringe as much when he takes it.
Smoove has already slowed a Rockets break once tonight by waiting for an outlet pass. I wonder if this has been pointed out to him.
This. Its like you hatdcore rockets fans forgot about what Aldridge did to us last year in the playoff We might as well of left him open the entire series. Jones was dominated. Smith will actually be able to do something against aldridge. The smith hate needs to stop.
He's really doing a lot well right now, but he still takes so many of those damn jumpers. Seriously, it's like he is physically incapable of stopping himself. He's still having an overall positive impact, but those are taking away from what could be an even better performance.
Not trying to come off as a Smith-Only-Fan because he does do things on the court that makes me scratch my head in wonder, but he has been more or less what we need of him. Turnovers: Sure, I would like to see those numbers go down, but this team turns over the ball a lot in general. The main things is that he is trying to make plays out there. I do think he gets too passive especially when he has a clear lane to the basket but chooses to make a hard bullet to a three point shooter, that leads to a lot of the turnovers that can be deduced. Three point shooting: As long as he is shooting within the offense, I don't mind him taking a couple of threes (at most 2 per game). Same with the turnovers, this team shoots a lot of threes anyway so it's not like he is shooting 5 threes while everyone else takes 10. You can live with the occasional three by Smith. Bottom line, he has been very good. Or at least better than what I expected. 13 points, 5-6 rebounds, 3 assist, a couple of blocks and steals a game is great production off the bench. Something that's seems to be undervalued around here is his defense. He is a great defender; makes the right rotation, contest shots, has the ability to pick up wings and point guards, controls the paints, transition blocks, just a solid defender. No offense to Jones, but he hasn't shown to be a good defender. He hasn't grown into a solid team defender, yet. That's why I would much rather have Smith get time than Jones if/when he gets healthy.
Dmo and Smith are two good defenders with size. Remember those days of the undersized PF with Landry, Scola, Chuck Hayes, etc? Days are over
You can't deny there are similarities to their games. Namely; guard-like handles, ability to pass week for their position, good finishers around the rim and fastbreak. Josh has to have the advantage on the defensive end of the floor though. His defense is pretty damn good. Jones still needs to develop that side of this game. His team defense and post defense is not good. I know a lot of draft analysis has Josh Smith as Jones' ceiling/best case scenario leading to the draft. Curious as to what you think Jones' ceiling is.
They are just different players, TJones has much better handles than Smith, and can also pass, not to mention is a better shooter...on defense - Smith is miles better. I think TJones can be a starting PF for 10 years - not sure what ceiling that is up to him. Aha, Mr. Passive aggressive - I see you. DD
