Stat junkies, quick question: Is there a way to show where he is catching the ball on the court? Looking at that YouTube video that was just posted, it seemed like he was getting the ball way too far away from the basket. Even on those highlights, it was not where he needs to be fed in order to be successful. He is catching the ball in places where a facilitator should, and that (hopefully) will not be his role with us ever.
Err what? He's taking 90% of his shots around the rim this season. His other shooting attempt % is on par with the rest of his career, especially his top scoring seasons in Atlanta.
I agree with this post completely. Smith could very well be the guy who puts us over the top. But it's funny how opinion on him has changed completely now that he's a Rocket. He is a low iq bball player. He had other skills that offset that, but let's not pretend he has zero weaknesses. That's what half this board is attempting to do. "Hey let's look past his past 2 years in Detroit. And his terrible percentages. And his chucker tendencies. And his low IQ! Josh Smith is amazing!" He could still be amazing. But let's stop pretending those other things are nonexistent.
Good points. On the point the OP mentioned about a player not knowing his limits or playing past his limits I think most people consider Low IQ as any player who shoots too much as a 1st/2nd option despite MISSING too much. The "smart" thing for them to do is reign themselves back. Like the dreaded Rafer Alston teardrop or Trevor Ariza dribble create - REPEATED no results attempts shows absense of conscience = "low IQ" I think there are times where JSmith plays like he's a left handed Carmelo Anthony. He has decent ball handling and passing for his position but not the shot making results. But like you mentioned, there are other facets where JSmith shows good awareness and understanding enough where he isnt totally basketball dumb
He's not necessarily a low BBIQ player, its just that if he's your highest BBIQ player and best creator for others on the floor, its going to be ugly. I think of Trevor Ariza with the Rockets in his first stint vs his second when he was able to play off of stars instead of trying to BE the star. I'll just say this... if James Harden and Dwight Howard don't make him look WORLDS better as an efficient supplementary player than nobody will. Keep in mind that he's not really a star player who can create his own offence, but he's been put in the position to be that guy with Detroit, and it hasn't really worked out obviously. Who he is from a skill set and experience level, SHOULD fit well with other stars unless he breaks plays to create for himself in iso situations... which even in his darkest days in Detroit, he wasn't doing exclusively. So we shall see here shortly what Josh Smith the supplementary player looks like playing next to real star players who create easy shots for their role players. Then we can talk about BBIQ. Right now, its kind of hard to judge his IQ either on the the court or off the court because his situation in Detroit didn't really tell me anything new about him other than the fact that he or Brandon Jennings CANNOT be your go-to options offensively.
That would be fine if he was coming off the bench, but as a starter next to Howard who also can't score outside of 5 feet? We tried this experiment before with Asik. It didn't work out all that great.
I see your point. But at the same time your tone seems to suggest that we gave an arm and a leg for this guy which couldn't be further from the case. While you and others are understandably perplexed by the sudden gush of sentiment towards Smith now that he's a Rocket, many of us are equally bamboozled by the extreme vitriole against him when we gave mere peanuts in the grand scheme of things.
But like I mentioned in the post, it's not an excuse for his terrible shooting %. But if you actually read, he's shot less from 3 point land when he has played mostly as a PF. Clearly I'm not saying he has no weakness at all.... All I'm just trying to prove is that he isn't always forcing things from long-range when he has played more as a PF. He has cut his 3 point rate to less than 10% this season which is lower than it has been in his last 3 years where he has gotten this rep. Over 60% of his shots has come from under 10 feet. His only real issue has been his mid-range shots which he just isn't hitting this year. He hit them at a decent clip and at a same rate in his best scoring years in Atlanta, but he's just not hitting them well at all this year.
There was an awesome article on J Smith's problems with the 3 pointer that year he hardly shot any. He described the 3 point shot like an addict would describe crack - I'm serious. He basically admitted he had to fight shooting them with every fiber of his soul. Unfortunately, I no longer have a link, but it was hysterical. He was on my fantasy team at the time.
his biggest problem is that he's a bad shooter who's been asked to be the #2 option in ATL and the #1-3 option in DET. the offense had to come from somewhere. now he has a chance to play off of H&H, he will get the easiest shots of his career. he wont have to force anything. will that make him a better shooter? no. but it might mean that he's only taking the better shots. he's famous for long 2s. we know that's not an option here. most likely he'll play the high post and drive for dunks or FT's, or he'll spot up in the corner.
He has never been on a winning team. Even the Hawks with horford was not that good. He thought he had to do it to win games for them. If I remember correctly, the Hawks kinda put him in that position too. Now, what need from Smith is the good, the shot blocking the atheleticism, the back to the basket game he has been working on with Dream. What we don't want is the jumper, the boneheaded play. I am sure he will be reminded of that. He is going to be o a leash, pretty short one. We will win and he will cope. Last I don't like offering him the stater spot. Not fair to DMO. Please don't call him a low iq person. He is not just by picking us.
So can Dmo. I am not so sure Smith is an upgrade over Dmo overall. DMO is the number 4 rim protector in the NBA. He's offensive game was coming around, he was doing some good stuff while Dwight was out. He's clearly a better post player than Dwight. I just hope DMO doesn't return to the guy we always remember but we manage to keep the player we saw the last month. This only works if you are trying to rest Howard a lot and expect DMO to take a lot of howard's minutes.
I don't think we'll see a regression in DMO's play. The confidence he gained is permanent; he knows he can thrive in this league. DMO may play better as the focal point. He definitely won't like not starting, but his interviews indicate he'll do whatever it takes to win. DMO fits way better into the 2nd unit than Smith. Smith would put up 15 shots a game lol
I don't think Josh is a better than Dmo, but I think it would be best for the bench if Dmo played more minutes with them. They usually play like headless chickens when there is no Harden/Dwight with them, but having Dmo gives them a bunch of easy points on post ups. I also think we are probably going to see more Smith/Dmo lineups than Smith/Dwight lineups.
Most of his shots are at the rim and he shots those shots at a 44% clip - which is ATROCIOUS. How does anyone shot point blank shots at that kind of percentage? It's beyond me.
