[ClutchFans] Full Josh Smith Highlights from his Houston Rockets Debut

Part of the reason was because of Dwight's poor offensive game. Dwight needs to run the pick and roll with Harden.

 

agree...but Dwight doesn't seem to "like" running the PNR.. Why is that? What is it about the pick and roll--something he clearly excels at--makes him not want to do it on a consistent basis? Too much work? Too much physicality? I do not understand why the PNR isn't their go to move every time... smh

 

After watching the game and then looking at the stats , I was kinda amazed he had taken so many shots as they all seemed to come in the flow of the offense .... Then I saw a few others complaining about the volume and had to go find a shot chart to see where they all came from.

All but 4 of his shots were taken within 12 feet of the basket , one of those to end the first half from 27 feet. He had 7 missed shots within 7 feet of the basket. I find it hard to believe he's going to miss that many short shots very often.
I think you can live with him taking a lot of shots with the majority of them (15) being within 7ft of the bucket. They were for the most part within the flow of the offense.
Here's the link to the shot chart from ESPN - I don't know how to post the image- http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=400578728

 

I cringed on some of the shots he took, though he is also a very good passer off the dribble so its nice to put the ball in his hands early in the shot clock and not make him exclusively a finisher.

 

I've been complaining about Dwight's post ups for weeks .... I'd much rather have Smith taking 15 shots within 7 feet of the basket than Howard getting 15 post ups ... better than 35% of Howards post ups end in a turnover , he misses half of those that don't and misses 53% of his FT attempts on the rest..

 

Josh Smith was finishing at the rim at an atrocious rate of 47% before we signed him.

He is not an efficient scorer, anywhere, or wasn't - let's hope he accepts playing off the ball - as that will get his shot percentages way up - if he tries to initiate the offense on a consistent basis, it is not going to be pretty.

DD

 

downhill is the best way to describe the way Smith played

he attacks the rim hard with or without the ball, and can find the open man with terrific passes when the defense collapses

 

Are you sure about that? I saw he finished at 67% within 3 feet for his career.

 

I'd say ego more than anything. Conventional wisdom says that you have to be a great post up player to be a complete big man in basketball. I think deep down, Dwight wants to be considered among the elite centers in basketball history.

 

Yeah I agree. I think once he gets settled in with the team more his game will improve. He looked a bit lost on offense at times but it was nice to see he just tried to attack the basket when he looked lost rather than jacking up a jumper.

 

What he did in Detroit should not be counted. Smith shared the court with 2 other guys that can't shoot outside of 3 feet. Clogged paint much?

 

Yes, Yes, Yes. 4-5 horrible forced chucker shots. The 1st quarter was AWFUL, he was a black hole. He got better in the 2nd-4th quarters, passing the ball a little better. But you can tell that in his mind if the play breaks down, he defaults to forcing up a bad shot on his own rather than making a good pass or getting it to a guard to create a shot.

I'll be watching to see if that improves over the next several games.

 

For all the valid concerns with Smith, with Smith, I honestly believe, we can compete against ANY team. Yes he may made some bone headed long shot here and there, but without him, I'm not so sure we could have won that last game vs. Memphis. AND from the post game interview, it sounds like Smith knows what a golden opportunity he signed himself into, a legitimate shot, dare I say, at a TITLE.

If the Rockets can stay health and team chemistry in place, we do have a very good chance to win it all.

Shved is interesting, was surprised to see him get early minutes. While Bull did mentioned how Terry was fresher at the end, this could go two ways:

Setting Shved up for a trade
Or working out the kinks so Shved can contribute

I hope it's the second, at 6 ft 6 in, he can be trouble for most short point guards. I think he's a little nervous, but once he's comfortable, watch out.

Sorry if I seem a little optimistic about our new additions, while I do know their flaws, I also believe in our team.

 

What if I told you Monta wasn't the first person to "Have it All"?

30 for 30: The Josh Smoove Story

 

I would agree with this ....

Thing is , if Howard would do what he's good at he'd probably score a lot more in the process .... but then he has to share the credit because he'd be assisted rather than carrying the load.

If I were coach of this Rockets team , the pick & roll with Harden & Howard would be the second option every trip down the court , behind only Harden going straight to the rim early in the possession.

McHale has a difficult balancing act with Howard ....

 

He is a better ball handler than Parsons which is nice because I felt having a third guy on the floor who could lead a break was really the only thing we lost and had not replaced when Parsons left.

 

That's what is so frustrating about him at times. He not only has great athleticism and amazing court vision. He also has ridiculous handles, a soft touch around the rim and some great instincts for the game. It's just that he seems to have a second personality in his head that is constantly telling him to go one on five.

He has all the talent, size and athleticism of Lebron James but is forever battling his inner JR Smith.

 

It's only natural for him to feel more akin to a Smith than a James. :grin:

 

Watching the Portland game on Monday, there were times when Harden was on the bench and we had Howard and others in the game... it was clear that there was no one good enough to create their own shots. The ball was moving but no one was stepping up.

With Josh coming off the bench, that's not going to be a problem. He'll still need to work on getting others involved, but it will be great to have a 2nd shot creator when Harden is resting.

 

I'm disappointed that Canaan hasn't gotten more an opportunity to be the sparkplug off the bench that we need. He showed a lot of promise in a few games as a starter.

I guess Smith will be replacing D-Mo in the starting unit soon. In that case, I really want to see Donatas punish opposing team's second units. I hope the change doesn't throw off his rhythm.