He's shooting 58.6% at the rim this season. He usually shoots over 70% including last season. Not great for him, but not horrendous
This is actually the perfect example for this argument. Kobe has actually had awful shot selection his entire career but I doubt any coach would call him a low IQ player. He has court awareness. But, I don't necessarily agree with the OP. I actually think it's a moot point because Smith's value to this team will far outweigh any negatives from low "bball IQ". We just got better for next to nothing. Anyone who disagrees with that simply doesn't understand basketball outside of scoring efficiency or the value of depth.
The nba is full of guys that think they can do things that they arent good at. Case and point, Dwight and his post ups. At this point, i know dmo is a better post option but dwight still gets his touches because it keeps him engaged. I think smith is the same. Let him take his 2-3 open threes per game if he contributes in the other facets of the game. You can easily eliminate the long twos by telling smith to step back and just shoot the three. Its not that hard.
It's tough if you're giving a defensive-minded players a significant amount of minutes when they're not contributing offensively and you don't have a steady, reliable offensive playmaker in reserve. We'd be really hard to beat if we have someone on the floor at all times that can create for themselves and others, a la Harden.
Greg Monroe is shooting 60% at the rim this year. Andre Drummond is shooting 56% at the rim. How well you can shoot inside is in large part dependent on the situation. What many people are missing is the context in which Josh Smith's bad production is coming from.
That is more than luxury in this league but would have been great. Bosh comes to my mind again. Well rounded on both ends. Offensively more gifted than his above average Defense. Someone like that. Bummer but we probably have to trade for draft picks and groom our own offense-gifted players. Yet again or sign a younger Aaron Brooks.
This year from BB reference: smith takes 26% of his shots from his most ineffective areas (16-23 ft) where he shoots a pathetic 18%. He actually has cut his 3s down this year to just around 1 a game. He averaged a whopping 3 a game last year. His FG%, FT%, 3pt% have all trended to disastrous proportions the past few years. I used to watch Hawks games and the Hawks fans ALWAYS groan whenever he takes a jumper. ALWAYS. He's pretty bad. Again, if McHale can convince him to just focus on rebounding and defending, and just get the offense when it's there, he can be a plus. Otherwise, there is little upside to Josh Smith.
Yes, he is. Who would want him? Look at the difference when he's on and off the court. A low IQ ball player can destroy a team's flow. Now in his prime, Kobe makes those shots and it's a different story. Now he's an old man way past his prime trying to be an elite player -> that's low IQ. That's a similar story with Josh Smith. He can be a momentum killer b/c his dumb shots really can take his own team out of their own flow.
So did Kobe at this point in his career just become a low IQ player?? Because right now he is taking a lot of shots he sucks at and shooting a lower percentage then Smith ever has with more short attempts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>CORRECTION -- Josh Smith's shot chart THIS season: <a href="http://t.co/Jmk2H6vk4K">http://t.co/Jmk2H6vk4K</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAStats?src=hash">#NBAStats</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pistons?src=hash">#Pistons</a> <a href="http://t.co/qf9O590A0d">pic.twitter.com/qf9O590A0d</a></p>— NBA.com (@NBAcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAcom/status/547080939767988224">December 22, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I expect the Morey thinktank will provide the coaching staff the most advantageous situations to put Josh Smith into. They are quite good at analyzing such things. Should be interesting.
Lmao this just confirms the nba hates the houston rockets. They make it so obvious. Especially with how hard they rode the blazers the entire playoff series against us.
I would just set 3 rules for him: - Focus on defense. - Don't take any shots unless it's a layup, dunk or corner 3. - Don't turn the ball over. In my eyes we got a guy worth $4-$5m at $2m at the position we need and with some skills which match our needs. He is a low bball iq player. The guy has had a disappointing career through many coaches, different systems, different teams, plenty of minutes, variety of good teammates, etc. His best ever season in ATL could have been an average one for him if he had bball iq. Now he has, I guess, one more chance to fix it. Someone compared him to Rasheed Wallace on the Pistons. Maybe? All I know is if he plays with the mindset of an efficient role player, we'll have an excellent rotation piece for a championship run.
Josh Smith is critical in both a small line up and a big lineup. small line up. Beverly Harden Brewer Ariza Smith imagine a big line up of: Harden Brewer Smith Donuts Howard Both would be matchup nightmare for opposing teams.
Chuck Hayes was a below average shooter with an above average BB IQ. You know why? He knew better than to take bad shots or make bad plays.
I'm not a big JS fan but that comment is screwed up. His best season in ATL was way above average and he actually had 4 similar seasons. Max 'ish' type dollar seasons. Unknown how he will perform here and if any of that is still there but to call his best season below average is just silly. Interesting human nature deal where some people take a concept and extrapolate it into absurdity.
Pretty sure Hawks WERE a winning team just couldn't win in the playoffs. Same could be said for the Rockets. LOL at people that think he HAD to shoot to win for either ATL or DET. He single handily made ATL worse in the playoffs because of his dumb decisions. You're going to hate him very soon.
I remember several plays in the playoffs where Smith made critical mistakes and bad decisions in clutch situations. A terrible behind the back pass in the last min of a close game, or a 20 ft contested jumper while waving off Joe Johnson in the last few seconds of a series. Hopefully, Smith won't take it upon himself and learn to play within the offense and not force the action....
