We would only need his dunks, putback, blocks and occasional shot. He would probably last on the pecking order of shot takers: #1 Dwight, #2 Harden, #3 Parsons, #4 Lin, #5 Josh
Milsap is: a more efficient scorer - .490 vs .465 better 3 pt shooter - .333 vs .303 (which we really need) better ft shooter - .742 vs .517 (ouch) fewer TOs - 1.8 vs 3.0 has a higher PER - 19.89 vs 17.82 you really can't argue that he's not a better O player. Smith is: a slightly better rebounder 7.1 vs 8.4 (though Milsap had 5 fewer minutes so I think this is a wash) a better playmaker - 4.2 apg vs 2.6 a better blocker - 1.8 vs 1 more athletic Smith is more athletic, better playmaker and better around the rim. Milsap is a better stretch 4 which should open things up in the paint for Harden and Lin. I'd rather have the later and I dare say he'd come at a lower cost. Utah can't afford to pay him and Favors.
Even if we get Dwight, Harden is still going to be the #1 option, and if we get Josh Smith, Lin will no longer be here.
I'd rather have someone that can stretch the floor to allow Harden, Lin and Parsons to drive. Howard would be dunks, putbacks and blocks.
No he won't, they said they're going to focus offense on him so even if you want Harden as #1, not going to happen. Semantics..Beverley / Lin..
lol His offense is not atrocious. He still scores a good PPG. An elite PF defense man that can score also is rare and much in demand. And the only one available wants to play for us.
While I agree w/ your conclusion that Smith is not atrocious on offense, use of simple stats or box scores can often be misleading. Efficiency and shot selection and usage rates and other more advanced stats tend to matter a lot more. Check out my post on Millsap vs. Smith on the prior page for some examples. Smith's PPG being high does not mean much. Rudy Gay has almost as many points, and he is one of the most inefficient, classic volume scorers in the league. I would hate to have him, esp. on his current contract. But again, I don't disagree w/ your conclusion. Smith is not so bad on offense that he's a black hole like Gay...and in our Rockets system, he'd be particularly effective since our system was tailored for his talents, should he choose to actually adhere to it.
Did you not see how Harden and Lin struggled when Patterson and Morris were traded and we didn't have small ball in action? Clog the paint with bigs and man up on Lin, Harden and Parsons as they try and beat you with jumpers.
Stats aside, Josh Smith is a great defender. He's an interior shot blocking presence but he can also guard perimeter players. If I knew 100% that he could be convinced to do offensively what he's good at, he'd be a no brainer signing.
A good article on the value of the stretch 4, which Josh obviously is not: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/60723/live-by-the-3-or-die
This is very true. All of it. His impact defensively can be devastating to opposing teams. Morey said Howard had the biggest defensive impact and that Asik was in the top 5 -- I would bet money so was Smith. His ability to guard great perimeter SF and to also guard 4's, the pick and roll and defend the rim -- and to have the athleticism to just about do all these things at the same time-- makes him very impactful on defense. On offense, well...I mean, he CAN have a positive impact...he often does...but, like NotCP said, you have to convince him to try to impact the offense as a very active and super athletic role player. He could still score like 15 PPG or so, but he has to do it smart, not trying to shoot perimeter shots and create offense on isolations very often. If Morey thinks Smith is a good move I will probably sit on pins and needles for the next 4 years hoping it doesn't blow the F up -- but he could really take this team to another level if he accepts the proper offensive role. And that is true whether Dwight is here or if he is playing alongside Asik. Also -- if the best team in your conference has Durant, Smith's value for the playoff run (which would invariably go through the Thunder) is exponentially increased.
lol I did see Durant, Duncan, Gasol, etc. eat us up. We had no answer for the big elite scorers at all. We will now. Milsap will average about the same or slightly more but now we can counter the elite teams scoring with one signing.
Even if the Rockets pick up Josh Smith, I am confident they can find minutes for a stretch 4. They will have a versatile roster with, or without Howard.
I saw a tweet from InsiderJay (?) that Houston working on a Snt for Josh Smith. I'm sure JR has posted it somewhere.
is it possible to obtain smith without losing Asik? Assuming that we dont get DH12, why would we swap asik for smith?
47% from the field isn't atrocious. Being the #3, 4 option is a lot different than his previous role.
