He maybe a low IQ person, but his basketball IQ is not low. Now before people say I'm defending him because Rockets got him, I wouldn't have cared enough to do the research on him if he went to the Mavs or something. I would like you people bash him without knowing much more than what the popular narrative is on him (probably the case I have with Rondo to Mavs) I have constantly read from Josh Smith's detractors that constantly say Smith is a Low IQ player. Now I understand that is a very popular opinion on him that people can say while not doing any research. It's akin to people saying Harden is a terrible defensive player. I've also seen those videos of Josh Smith's blunders (shooting 3's) etc. But we know from Harden's defensive videos that it's incredibly easy to get low-points from a player and make em into a video to build a popular narrative. Offense: So the narrative on Josh Smith is that he is a Low IQ player because he doesn't know his limits on offense. Let's look at how he's been used: NOTE: THIS ISN'T AN EXCUSE FOR HIS TERRIBLE FG%. I just want to dispel the notion that he doesn't know his limits. and is a dumb player. In his first year in Detroit: He played 56% of his time as a SF and 43% as a PF according to Position Estimate. He was playing more on the perimeter this season. His shot percentage reflected it. 21.5% of his shots came from the 3 pt line (Attempted an alarming 3.4 per game) and attempted a career low 24.4% at 0-3 ft His current year He has played 80% of the time as a PF and 20% at SF. His shot selection reflects this positional usage switch. NOTE: He is still shooting poorly, but is that just from an off year? Or is it he's truly a bad player? His shot % reflects the change, 9.5% of his shots are coming from the 3 pt land while 30% is coming from 0-3 feet. His 3 point rate is one of his lower amounts in his career. Does this sound like a person that doesn't know his limits or someone that was being used in a wrong way? He's shooting a lot less from 3, albeit he is shooting a bit too many long 2's' for my liking. His offensive shot selection reflects how he has been used in Detroit. He takes more 3's when he's been playing more on the perimeter as a SF vs when he's been playing mainly as a PF. The amount of mid-range shot's he's been taking last 2 years is on par with his career including his best seasons in Atlanta. He's just not making them this season and his stats are reflecting that. Defense: Just read this article explaining his excellent defensive ability and how he uses his length to his advantage in various scenarios: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/10/9/4764370/josh-smith-video-breakdown-defense-detroit-pistons-2013 After reading that, does this sound like a dumb player to you? He maybe inefficient, but that doesn't mean he's a low IQ player.
People mistake 'Below average shooter' for automatic 'Low IQ' player because that player was athletic and might still be I think he was the No. 1 option or No. 2 and he had to shoot and in order to get recognized for a possible allstar berth It is just a weakness. Corey Brewer isn't a shooter as well and people were also excited to have him
it is really odd for a team to try and transition a player from PF to SF, as you get older, you're usually slower but stronger. He's a guy that should have transitioned from PF/part time SF to full time PF, but instead he went to a team that wanted him to be a SF, can't blame him for taking the money though.
What's funny is Josh Smith will probably be a fan favorite by the end of the season. Some fans don't want to accept the fact of him on the team, because of chemistry concerns. I think that's ridiculous. The guy is a problem for opposing teams night-in and night-out. He will be a highlight reel on this team. Have a little faith in the guy. IMHO he formulates that Big 3.
You have to wonder about any player that can't make a shot from 5-15 feet out after so many years in the league.
Anybody that can pass the ball like he does is disqualified from being a "low basketball IQ" player, IMO A low basketball IQ player is someone who gets the ball in their hands and you brace yourself for the impending turnover. Smith doesn't put the ball on the floor and dribble towards defenders. He doesn't pass the ball where there is no passing lane. If you give him an open path to the basket he will take it. A good example of a low IQ basketball player that we all saw around here would be Hasheem Thabeet, where he just looked lost both in terms of spacing and movement on offense, and in terms of how to position himself on defense. Jordan Henriquez from the summer league team was another low IQ player. Going back in time, former 1st round pick John Turner was the an all time low basketball IQ player. Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane = low basketball IQ. Shooting those crappy jumpers doesn't show Smith to be a basketball genius, but at no time does he look completely lost when he's on the court. His basketball IQ is average-ish. High in some aspects, low in others. Being a bad shooter doesn't automatically make you a low basketball IQ player. It just means you are a bad shooter, and you don't give a f**k. If bad shooting = low basketball IQ, then Rajon Rondo must be a low IQ player too, right? Truly low IQ players never make the right decisions. Smith knows how to pass, and he knows how to defend at a "gifted" level. When Hasheem Thabeet played good defense, he did so in spite of himself, and because he was just so damn tall. When he played, it always looked like he was seeing stuff a second or two after everybody else on the court. That is what low basketball IQ looks like. Smith knows where to be on defense and passing the ball. He anticipates defensive rotations, and open passing lanes. Those are both high basketball IQ attributes, not the signs of a low basketball IQ. I will go so far as to say that there is no such thing as a good weak side shot blocker with a low basketball IQ. You simply have to have too much anticipation of what will happen in the next few seconds for that to be the case. As far as bobby talking about basketball IQ... he is also the guy who spent months screaming down Teddy Bridgewater as someone who was borderline r****ded with respect to football IQ, claiming he would never be able to figure out an offense and so on, while Clowney was going to be an all time great from the word go. See how that has come true?
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Not sure if he is low IQ. But let's put aside the "he's in a bad situation in Detroit" argument and look at his numbers in Atlanta. His 3p% there was .283; 2p% was .481; eFG% was .480; TS% was .516. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smithjo03.html His best shooting season was 09-10 when he played the vast majority of his minutes as a PF. (http://www.82games.com/0910/09ATL9.HTM) He only attempted 7 3pt shots and made none. His 2p% was .508; TS% .536. He has never been an efficient shooter. The possible cause is that he has always been a top scoring option on the team. The only hope we have for him to be more efficient is that he shoots less with us. That's why I am fine with him being a starter when we have both Harden and Howard taking most of the shots.
A lot of modern bigs can't. It's really not that big of a deal if people (including Smith himself) could stop thinking of him as some SF/PF tweener. He's not. He's just an athletic PF with handling/passing ability, like a rich man's Terrence Jones.
OP was very unconvincing. People are obviously just making excuses for him, b/c he's a Rocket now. If you take a bunch of shots that you suck at, that is obviously low IQ.
