[RealGM.com] The Atlanta Celtics Make Their Long-Awaited Return In Houston

Nice article that for a change is sympathetic to Smith and Howard and the Rockets!

Gives me much hope for their pairing although we may have to give some time for Smith to retool his confidence and his game. Hopefully the lockerroom atmosphere and McHale's folksy coaching style will be positive for him.

 

Morey pls give a call to Randolph Morris!

 

I saw the Atlanta Celtics play in Houston in 2003 at the Pearland Classic when they had their "big 3" guys. I think Javaris Crittenton (remember him?) may have been on the bench as a freshman 2 years younger than his teammates.

Howard was skinny back then. He did a great job of bulking up. People act as if he was naturally huge and ripped and didn't work for anything.

 

This pairing reminds me of Hakeem and Clyde finally reuniting.

 

I am hoping for the best, but if Josh Smith takes a lot of bad shots or complains about minutes I could see this ending up being a real problem.

It has the potential to be constructive, but it also has the potential to really be detrimental.

Josh Smith sounds to me - and I am just being honest with my gut - a really immature, selfish, arrogant person. He doesn't sound like he's worked very hard to improve on his game and build on his talents. Rumors was he was a locker room cancer in Detroit - I mean they cut him despite all that money. Who does that?

Everything everyone disliked about T-mac is 10 fold in this guy.

Maybe he will turn it around here, I sure hope so. But my excitement is tempered a lot. I am skeptical this will work out, but of course, I have been terribly wrong before!

 

Only with Harden and Howard we don't have a championship caliber team. At least with Smith you hope that there is a chance he will turn the corner and correct a little his shot selection. It's a slim chance but we had to try.

 

Detroit was a hopeless situation. I don't think Smith is going to come in and start stinking up his good friend's last-hope team. McHale will have no qualms benching Smith. Josh Powell sucked enough to retire; Smith doesn't. But Dwight knows the deal and I bet he prefers going for a championship to covering for his friend who is not contributing to the cause.

 

What this article completely overlooks in the Gasol/Zbo comparision is that these make-ups are polar opposites. In terms of sheer athleticism and talent, Smith and Howard reign far above Zbo/Gasol. In regards to skill, vice versa.

In regards to Basketball IQ, too. Which is the unfortunate part. The fact that smith was holding out ONLY for a starting spot speaks volumes to me, he still doesn't get it. He's an entitled, cancer-ridden idiot. I'm hoping he understands he'll have to change that behind Dwight and James.

 

Pretty much why we're ignored/disliked by everyone else, especially the media.

 

Wanting to sign on to a team who will guarantee him a start is the opposite of being an entitled cancer-ridden idiot. That's actually called being smart and willing to work, contribute, and make an impact.

 

What exactly about personalities of harden and Dwight which is worse than other super stars and moreys philosophy which is very different from other gms?

 

low risk, high reward

 

He doesn't care about winning unless he is starting? That's the first impression he comes in with as a vet that Detroit just kicked him off their team?

I don't know, but I'm not getting a good feeling about this.

 

Isn't he signing on for this season only, and then he's a free agent again?

I don't see Smith as arrogant. If he's close to Howard, he won't be. Because Dwight isn't arrogant. I think he's like Howard who's relied on athleticism in the past but now realizes he needs help to retool his game. His reaching out to Dwight speaks a little (maybe a lot) of desperation. He's been burned by his DET experience and criticized by media.

I would think he'll be more open to constructive feedback on tweaking his game so he will succeed at this stage of the career.

 

I hear you. I worry about the guy's head, locker room stuff more than on-court stuff. But

1) It wasn't necessarily true; could be a negotiating tactic. Suppose no one promised him a starting spot: I think he would still sign with the best team available.
2) Smith cannot fight McHale for minutes. That dude will have his ass on the bench if he can't play right.
3) Smith can turn into one of Morey's flying "assets" real fast.
4) Harden might be young, but he is the man, and this year he knows he's the man, and everyone knows he's the man; he and everyone in the rotation are not going to forget who is supposed to be holding the ball and running things. Smith will be "ISO'd" on the court if he can't figure out how to contribute to a contender. The ball just won't come his way.

I do worry a little about Smith's head, as opposed to Brewer's or Shved's though. . . .

 

I feel like Dwight is laser-focused on winning a Championship and I can't help but believe he was honest and direct about that while talking to Josh about coming to the Rockets.

As for Harden, Bev, Ariza and the rest of the vets, they are either going to force Josh to put on his hard hat and work hard and play smart or GTFO.

From a Rockets management and coaching perspective, you ALWAYS add talent when you have a window to be a special team. When you factor in how little risk is involved this is almost too good to be true (especially considering recent history of attempted star acquisitions).

I will even go so far as to say that if Smith can not go over the top with the attitude, his edge might be a good thing on the court for a team that, outside of Wolverine, is full of milk drinkers. I would have loved to see Kobe pull the garbage he pulled during the "soft...soft" exchange with Dwight if Josh had been there to give Kobe a nice little chest bump and put Kobe on his heels. We need a guy who can be a little nasty from time to time.

 

I swear you guys reacts on every single thing you could find and nit pick on someone. This is a different team, veteran team, respectable coach and trying to win now. If Ron artest worked with no problems for us then this is should work even smoother. Smith been on nothing but bad teams and immature players around him.

 

Josh Powell, Josh Smith... I bet Morey is getting Randolph Morris, too. Does Dwight have any other friends in NBA or international ball?

 

This is why Pippen, in spite of every reason to not want a former Bad Boy on his team, gave a ringing endorsement to get Rodman. He specifically stated they needed his rebounding and toughness. A little crazy ain't bad. You just have to know how to deal with it. Jackson knew, and it helped lead to 72 and 69-win seasons.