Yep. It's not his fault we lost. He's the 5th option on the court and plays like it. Folks here are going after him unjustly. It's like cricifying Brewer for shooting 3s. He's never been a good 3 point shooter either.
As I said when we got him, it is not that he is a bad guy, but it is the ripple effect on the entire team dynamic. It puts more team oriented players like KPap on the bench, it adds another guy who needs the ball and takes touches away from more efficient players like Dmo.... Folks want Josh to play within himself, that is just not who he is, never has been, and I contend a leopard can't change his spots. I understand financially why we did it, but chemically it was a major risk, you don't fix what is not broken. Morey broke the cardinal rule... DD
I guess people here are gonna coddle Dwight and make Smith the scapegoat. Smith has yet to be the reason we lose games. Hell, half the time Smith is on the floor with the bench when they cut leads. Look at Bev, Ariza and Howard if you want the reason the team can't be contenders not role playing bench players.
Before we continue down your line of thought, please provide more details on why you believe that the Rockets can't cut Josh Smith.
Reek - it is not Josh's fault, per se, he just doesn't fit here with this style of play and it makes the team weaker because it takes opportunities away from better team oriented players. It is why the Pistons are now better, other people get the chance to step up. DD
Serious question... As it was reported that pretty much every team in the NBA including contenders all contacted Josh Smith about signing for a similar contract and roll situation, would they have gotten the same blame you are giving Morey for "messing with chemistry", or is the Rockets chemistry so much different than a normal basketball teams? I know you love Mark Cuban, and often in the past used him as the gold standard that you'd like to see Les Alexander live by, but he was willing to make the same gamble openly. Is there something different that makes it ok for them to gamble on a Josh Smith player on a veteran one year deal, or should pretty much every NBA team get criticized for their star chasing efforts? Is this a Morey problem, or is it an NBA/modern basketball problem?
What's with the hostility? No, that's not proof enough for me. That's 110% assumption. I'm not in favor of cutting Josh Smith immediately. But if he continues to suck, we'd be better off with mopey Dwight and no Smith than current Dwight and bad Smith.
If Smith doesn't fit how does Jones? Smith is playing a marginal role here DD and trying to pass the buck to him is wrong. He wanted to come off the bench.
Smith is not a cancer, and not the reason we lost last night or to GSW before. Not even close. And he doesn't demand the ball. And he is not a ball stopper. On the contrary, he is very decisive about driving or passing, and seems to be curbing his 3pt shots a little. He doesn't pound the ball. And what's this about him taking Paps minutes. He's backing up DMo. Brewer is taking Paps minutes. We don't want Paps to play PF anymore. geez. If anyone right now, Josh is taking Dorsey's minutes. smdh And he is not taking Canaan's minutes either. Canaan is quoted yesterday in the Daily Monitor saying he is just now feeling better from his ankle iinjury. McHale did not put him in the doghouse. And Smith is not taking Sved's minutes either. He's definitely a scapegoat, though. And gives a way for ppl to rant on something and protect their own BBS agendas.
Because Jones is efficient on offense - and can play off the ball and above the rim, he is better than Smith - especially now that Smith's athleticism is declining. Each team's chemistry is different, one of the dynamics to consider is the strength of the coaching, ours is fairly easy going and weak - I think Smith probably would/could be more effective under stronger leadership - or on a team that had more offensively oriented players where he can play to his current strengths defense and rebounding. I think Cuban and Carlisle and the Mavs could use a defensive rebounding player - they would not need his offense, and again, their leadership is much stronger than the Rockets from the coaching angle. Yes, it is a Morey problem, he said that Smith is a guy you get and let the coaches figure it out.....seems chemistry should be more of a consideration. DD
So the problem is Morey's trust/faith whatever in the lackluster coaching, but every other good team would have "figured it out". You just said this minutes ago- So a team like Dallas could have changed that, and made him a rebounder, and a guy who just "plays within himself"? You said yourself that a "Leopard Can't change his spots" but the Mavs, Cuban, and Carlisle could? Seems a bit contradictory. I would agree that maybe the Rockets chemistry should have been handled a little more delicate than that of a team like the Spurs, or maybe last year's Heat team. However I think its more than fair to note that it wasn't JUST MOREY that went after Josh Smith with the risk of hurting chemistry. Let's not act like Morey alone is stupid for going after Josh Smith. It was a chocolate chip cookie that fell out of the cookie jar that any kid wouldn't have been able to resist. Let's not act like Morey is some big idiot for doing what anyone would have and WANT PREPARED to do.
I've been staying away from this part of the forum intentionally for most of this season(...Cowboys fan, sorry...)... ...but, with Josh Smith's acquisition, in particular, we are finally coming to a (sort of) meeting-of-the-minds, in terms of what NBA/modern basketball is, in my opinion. I don't usually take much that national pundits across the league say with anything more than a grain of salt (they often comment in broad strokes), but Jalen Rose in his podcast with David Jacoby said some very interesting things about Josh Smith the player recently that fit right in with what you, dobro1229, and DD have been talking about. Josh Smith is, for all intents and purposes, the player that Gerald Wallace was (mostly for the Charlotte Bobcats) - an uber-athletic energy and hustle player...a guy who could do a little bit of everything except shoot the basketball. Smith isn't the "Crash" that Wallace was, however...and, like Wallace, once his athleticism wanes, Smith could see himself out of the league in short order. Used to be a time where a player like Smith was a valuable commodity...a facilitator, ball-mover, fill-in-the-blank type of player (the recent podcast likened Smith to a possible retro-Lamar Odom, circa L.A. Lakers)...a guy who could grease the wheels for an offense and be practically interchangeable on defense. But with the way the game is played (and more importantly, officiated), the focus and freedom has gone to the perimeter. And if the focus is largely outside-in, which is what the Rockets offense has basically been for the past three seasons, then any player on the wings or at the four position who doesn't have a jumpshot is going to struggle. Rose is a lot more astute than I'd ever given him credit for. Dallas is loathed as a franchise in these parts, and for good reason. Mark Cuban aside, however...if Smith had joined the Mavericks, I just can't see Rick Carlisle not finding a way to make it work offensively with him. He got Monta Ellis to move the basketball and make better decisions, for God's sake. And that, I think, is my point in all this. If the past month has shown us anything about these Rockets up 'til now it's the team needs another ball-handler/distributor/facilitator the team could use a more structured offensive philosophy the team needs to remember that they won by playing defense consistently It can fit a certain type of narrative, depending on your opinion of Josh Smith and how the Rockets acquired him, the Rockets started to falter chemistry-wise once Smith joined the club, but the real question, for me is this: How will Smith handle NOT being on the floor to end games for the Rockets going forward? So far, he's adjusted about as well as can be expected to his bench role. Never thought the guy was a cancer, personally. But his skill-set (and he is a lot more skilled than people realize) can't be fully utilized in what amounts to a spread floor, 4-out offense (James Harden, MVP or no MVP, is the reason why the Rockets are dangerous...but he needs help). You have to have some talent in this league to win. I don't think you can ever have too much of that. Chemistry is important, too (undervalued at times, but always coveted). But the best melding of talent and chemistry is structure. The NBA structure espoused by the wave of analytics doesn't ask for a lot of middle-ground, especially from hybrid-swing-smallball-forwards like Smith, who tend to do most of whatever damage they can do offensively from 12 feet and in. The game, at least here in Houston and with these Rockets, has changed. Still not sold, personally, on whether or not that change is a good thing. As much respect as I have for Kevin McHale (nostalgia-ridden angst is more like it), and for Daryl Morey, they are both going to have to decide on which numbers are more important... ...the ones on the spreadsheet or the ones on the court....
Smith has played very well, you guys are on crack. Is he averaging 15 and 8 a game like some were hoping? No, but he's doing damn fine for a bench role player who comes in and gives some D and athleticism. Last night he got 14 minutes, in that time he went 2 of 4 from the field scoring 5 points, 2 assist, 2 boards, a block and a steal. How in the hell is he the reason we lost?
Not hostile towards you. Just frustrated with McFail. Also, I can't see them cutting Josh Smith. Cutting him or keeping him....I don't see either as the solution to our problems.
