hehe, i've liked your psots, but now you're reaching. unless you're like me, having grammar issues. did you mean he "was" (and even that is debatable)?
Put me down with everyone who says Josh Smith is an A+ defender. In three games he's been able to control this team... together with Harden in a very positive way. He's already our leader on the floor, and you can already see James defer to him while they're on the court together. It almost seems as if Josh has the ball in his hands more often then Harden on offense around the basket . It's the trust and the leadership that Josh brings... that comes natural to him. Which brings us back that word "chemistry". In my humble opinion I believe Every team who has won a championship in the past, has had it. ;-)- Not to get off topic, but just look what team chemistry did for the Astros this past season in their clubhouse. Should I even mention the University of Houston's football program?
There's more gray area than mere "good vs bad" or simple "yes or no".. etc. Is Josh a good defender? Yes Is he an elite defender? No He's good, but isn't "shutdown" consistently enough. Is Josh elite defensively in spurts? Yes Is Josh elite defensively? No He can rebound better too. And that's *not* saying he's a bad rebounder. *edit
No, no no - I am ok with Josh Smith - I think DMo is better, but Dmo is out - so he is clearly a very important part of the team, chemistry wise. I don't think he is a long term solution, but for this year, yes. DD
His offense will always be streaky at best, even posting him up on a smaller player last night was a bit of a gamble. However, he is way better than Jones or Capela in one on one post situations, in defensive rotations, passing on the block or the high post and blocking/contesting shots off the weak-side. Which are all things that we desperately need from that position.
I always told people Josh was the necessary missing piece for this team. He's so random, you dont know what your going to get from him much like how Rodman had that impact for the Bulls but its obvious now that him being back has had a postive impact on this team. That stretch were we went on a 22-2 run (I think) was probably the best basketball I've seen us play all season. That defense was crazy and the offense was stellar!
It's not really Josh making the impact. It's Ariza who came out of nowhere with 3 unbelievable games in a row. But, if we want to say it is Josh, then fine.
Is Josh Smith an elite defender, not anymore he is still really good though. But when the alternative is Terrence Jones, adding a good defender is like adding an elite defender. He will shoot better than he has. We all know he's a terrible shooter, but he's not 14% terrible. He'll make 30% or so of those. He is also missing a lot of his shots around the rim right now, more of those will start to fall. So he'll be a more effective scorer. Never in my wildest dreams thought he would help this much.
So true. Josh has been helping despite his terrible shooting, but the biggest reason we have won 3 in a row is our teams 3 point shooting. And don't tell me it's because we are only now starting to get open looks. For a while we were leading the league in open 3 point attempts, we might still be. Guys are finally hitting. Complete opposite of how the season started.
Well quite as it's kept you are nuts... :grin::grin: But your post is right on.... Everyone was so hyped about Ty and I kept saying the biggest issue is still at PF... I was right there with you... T_Man
True, but he is also getting more OPEN shots because the ball is moving around more because of SMoov. DD
You know you can look this stuff up. Open looks aren't just happening now. per game Ariza averages 2.6 "wide open" 3 point attempts(nearest defender 6+feet away) 2.4 "open" attempts( nearest defender between 4-6 feet) 1 attempt with "tight to very tight" coverage(nearest defender 0-4 ft away) So for the season 5 out of his 6 3 point attempts per game are open looks. Until recently he just hasn't been hitting open shots at a very good rate.
Good post. Smith's +/- the last three games have been -6, +3, and -14. Ariza and Harden have been playing out of their minds. Josh has not been good, but he's been different. And something different is exactly what this team needed. Exhibit A https://www.instagram.com/p/BA8TGe_NlUt/
