Goes to show that a lot of times STATS can be very deceiving... For some reason the ball has been moving since Josh came... Defense still needs work, but you can see the guys coming together as a team. T_Man
He certainly has made elite defensive plays in crunch time situations. Also, he's one of the best interior defenders on the team.
dammit no good is going to come of DD creating this thread. I feel its going to be a big 'I told you so' soon enough from him about how smith was fools gold
ok. but that doesnt make him an "elite" defender. cf's need to tell things the way they are. i've seen too many exaggerations either way...
Yes. I am. Smith is one of the best positional defenders in the league and is a solid shot blocker. Not to mention he was the youngest player to 1,000 blocks and has made All NBA Defensive teams. If you can't see that I can't help you my man.
he made the 2nd team 6 years ago. that doesn't make him an elite defender today. Can he be solid at times? Yes of course but he's no where near the elite status.
YES!!!!! his rotations from the weakside to help out are incredible! this was what the defense was missing... t jones would never do this
No, he's not. He's lost a step - or two - on that end and his defensive awareness is nearly good enough to make up for the athletic decline. He's merely solid now. Obviously, even solid is a huge upgrade over T. Jones.
you're trying to piggy back on what someone else said but you called him an elite defender. that's not what bballholic reiterated. That's two completely different things. If guys think JS is an elite defender boy are your standards low.
I wasn't in favor of bringing him back. I'll admit I was wrong on that one. Here would be my Josh Smith Rules: 1. Play Defense 2. Rebound 3. Facilitate on Offense 4. If wide open take the 3 (Max 1 per half unless you make the first one... if you make the first one you can take another and keep shooting when open as long as you keep making them) Once you miss 2 in row. No more threes that game)
his defensive basketball IQ is what I was referring to as still elite... ya he doesn't isn't playing the same elite defense he once did but he still knows how to make the right decision on when to help out or stay with his man... other PFs on this team never understood this concept of defense
yeah he's on the same level as draymond/kawhi since they're by far elite. So he's in the same category as them when people talk about defense huh. what a joke
if you're going to compare him to other pfs on this team then yeah of course its better. Houston's defense is pretty pathetic. that's no secret but that doesn't make him elite in general just because the standards are lower on the team he's on.
