Canaan should be used in games Bev is struggling. McHale should not hesitate to make in - game changes.
People are so quick to write off J Smith. He is not a terrible player if utilized correctly. Right now the problem is we NEED him to get it. We need JSmith to fit. I love DMo and always felt that he would be better than TJones but he is still not defensively savy enough to hold his own against guys like LMA or Blake Griffin yet. JSmith has the experience and physical capabilities to do those things. The starting pf slot definitely needs to be a game to game situation. Whatever chance we have of getting Josh Smith up to speed we have to take it. The sooner he understands and gets his role, he will be awesome along side Dwight and Harden. It isn't a matter of "if" he'll get it anymore but when. Mchale has to make him fit in and know his Role! J Smith has been with us less than a month. Let him Adjust.
Josh smith who doesn't take many shots and only regular shots is the josh smith we need. He plays great defense even on the no stats side of defense. His rebounding and pass is pretty good to defiantly top three rebounder on our team of it comes down to the wire. Also like I said his passing opens the floor up for shooters and also dwight but we haven't seen that to much.
Josh Smith has a tendency to over-pass now. When he has the ball inside, he's often better off just shooting it, even if the shot is contested instead of risking an often wild pass. Just the the ball up, it has a chance to get in and a teammate is often in position to get an offensive rebound, especially if a help defender is coming over to contest Smith's shot.
I noticed this too. He's clearly trying to fit in, but he needs to attack aggressively. After he took so many shots in the first game, I think he went out of his way to start passing. One play in this game where he had his man face up at 15 feet. That's a time where he needs to attack off the dribble. Particularly when Dwight is in the game to clean up things around the rim. I still think he's really gonna help this team once he's gets comfortable. Until then he needs to play less minutes off the bench like tonight.
Players have less pressure playing against the 2nd or 3rd unit. Perhaps that is the way to get back to aggressive and more shooting version of Josh
I think last night was a wake up call. Looked much more willing to just be a hustle/facilitator guy. Didn't look to shoot all that much until the game was over.
If we are going to succeed with him, he can't be that guy. As we know Josh Smith is a very poor shooter. He can't stand around the paint because he clogs it for Harden and Howard, and if he just stands around the perimeter not shooting he is going to continue to be a massive offensive liability. He has to mitigate the damage by attacking with the ball when he can, much like he did in his first game, and much like Terrence Jones did last year. He's never going to a great offensive player for us, he just has to not be a negative because his rebounding and defense are where his true value lies.
The shots weren't his fault, just incidental to his role. Smith played closer to the basket, even back up C. They went away from experimenting with Smith as a second playmaker where he would get the ball from just above the free throw line. It goes to show how desperate the Rockets are for that second playmaker.
