I agree with you 100% and am not yet convinced Smith can fit here offensively. Just hilarious to me to watch people pretend T. Jones (who is obviously infinitely better than Smith offensively) is the superior defender just to support their narrative.
Um, YES, he is a better defender than T. Jones. And again -- my question was not about fit or whether his defense balances out his offensive limitations, blah, blah, blah. It was simply whether you think T. Jones today is a better defender than Josh Smith today. You think so. I vehemently disagree. Dassit. As for Smith's defensive performance since he's been here, this thread has some excellent analysis: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=261304
I also never stated Jones was ****ty or something, I like him, I just think if Houston doesn't take risks they're basically a first round exit. I mean Jones is still weeks from even possibly coming back.
I asked that question on the first page and got a "Who knows?" and a "Defiantly," which I'm 99.9% sure was supposed to be "Definitely."
Just to be clear. I've never said Jones is a good defensive player. He wasn't a good defender last year and there is no question that he gets bullied in the post by big strong PFs. His best attributes defensively were shot blocking and the ability to guard players out in space away from the basket on switches. I was talking specifically about how he is blamed for game 2 when Aldridge scored 43points on our two best defensive players and two of the elite defenders in the game. They couldn't even stop him. They made him work harder, but he was in video game mode. Jones was clearly overmatched game 1, but we should have still won that game had it not been for Howard and Harden throwing bricks at the rim. I have no idea if he can be a good defender on not because our team philosophy up until this year has been offensively driven. A 22 year old that comes into a poor defensive system that doesn't really place importance on that side of the floor means I have yet to really see what he is capable of being defensively with proper coaching and teammates around him that are buying into the schemes they want to run. I think it makes no sense to completely write him off as a poor defender until we see him in THIS defense. Also, Josh Smith defensively is certainly light years ahead of the Terrance Jones that we've seen so far which was basically one season's worth of data. Smith has been an elite defender in the NBA for a decade.
Well of course Smith is a better defender today, haha, Jones can't even suit up. I'm just messing, I agree 100% w/ you, Jones isn't at Smith's defensive level.
Haha, I hope they meant definitely too... I just assumed so because it was a bit hard to read the OP.
What the Rockets have NOW is a stacked team with a deep bench which they DID NOT have last year. We get rid of Parsons and basically got a team a loaded team as a result. I'd rather have T Jones/Smith than T Jones/Black or Dorsey in the playoffs without Smith on our team. Another way to say it is I'd rather have Smith than Black all day long with a healthy T Jones in the playoffs. Put him at the SF position and he can possibly become a matchup problem for other teams.
Let me help you out and be more specific so that you aren't confused. From the very onset of game 2, Jones was not defensively assigned to LaMarcus Aldridge. He was assigned to Robin Lopez. Dwight Howard guarded Aldridge and then Omer Asik. Not Jones.
Right so Jones has a bad game defensively game 1 (still wasn't responsible for even half of LMA's points) it's his fault ok. Howard/Asik have a bad game defensively game 2, still TJ's fault? el o el, no man
Smoove is going to need time to mesh offensively, but I like the fact that he has caught on to our defensive system and given us a boost in that aspect...He is not forcing anything on offense, his drop in field goal attempts thus far makes me feel that he has bought in to our system and role which is great considering he has a history of being a volume scorer...I think he will be very valuable in the playoffs
Yet magically as soon as Jones is out of the starting lineup, LMA's performance drops off. Clearly that can't at all be related. There's no way that removing a poor defensive PF from the starting lineup would have anything to do with the performance of the other PF falling off immediately......that's what you are selling right now.
Lol, exactly.. Starting game 3 the rotation/lineup changed. In game 2 I don't recall them ever playing Asik and Howard at the same time like they did the rest of the series.
Yeah, it will be against the league's better power forwards that we'll see whether Josh Smith will prove his value. No doubt he's defiantly talented but his style of play is not a guaranteed fit with the current team. Offensively, Smith doesn't quite know how to play wihout the ball in his hands, though he does seem to be trying. Also, both he and Brewer are risk-takers on defense. It's great when it works out, but it also has the danger of leaving the team out of position and out of rhythm. Personally, I think Smith and the other additions could work, but it's going to be tough to adjust and maybe even change gears in mid-season. McHale's defiantly got his work cut out for him.
Hell, I'm part of it... I think he is sorely missed, especially with how crap our offense has been. And I'm also not sold on Smoove by any stretch of the imagination, but those two as comparable defenders? I don't see it. Last season: Smith w/ a DRPM rating of +1.78, good for 12th among all SFs. T. Jones w/ a DRPM rating of -.190, 79th among PFs. Smith w/ an ORPM rating of -.38. T. Jones w/ an ORPM rating of +.49. I know real plus-minus isn't an exact science, but it sure matches what I see with my eyes -- one really good defensively, one really good offensively. I'm personally curious to see what we look like with both of them in the rotation.
And he played similar minutes in game 2 as he did the rest of the series.... it's called VARIANCE r****d.
