You can't leave Smith open because he will knock it down? Yeah, that's incorrect. Take a look at the shot chart.
Atlanta has been stuck in the same position year after year. I dont think that fault is on JS though. Post up fades were fun with him in 2k.
yea He still has managed to score well and grabs a lot of rebounds. I watched him hurt the Rockets in fact. We get him and the 4 spot is well taken care of for years.
He has talent, definitely, but the chart puts an end to any speculation that he's a solid shooter. He's anything but that, and any Hawks fan will tell you as much.
Yes He still scores a lot and rebounds a lot and gets good assists for his position and high steal rate. He is a defensive monster that can also score and create. This is very rare. He also is young and stays healthy. One of the best PF playing right now but needs a good team with actual talent on it.
Who are our current pfs? Smith is still an upgrade if you can sign him for a great price. If this is what morey is thinking i'd rather take Smith and another sub-superstar pg than take a third 'high' contract. Its like bosh in miami, there arent too many touches going around with three SS's.
Josh Smith is a fantastic defender. He's definitely Top 5 in terms of forward defense in the league. The problem is, Josh Smith thinks he's a great shooter. And he's a turrible shooter. Turrible. You can blame some of it on his team, but at the end of the day Smith takes up way too many possessions and converts them into like, -2.7 PPP (I'm exaggerating, obviously). It would be one thing if he dropped a pass once in a while like Asik, but the guy actively looks to handle the ball and destroys the team's overall offense in the process. The combination of these two things turn him from being a near-Superstar to a mediocre All-Star. If Josh Smith were willing to play pure defense and rebounding (a la Asik) and be willing to be the fifth "open man" option on offense, then he would be the obvious pick-up. This team was second in the league in offensive efficiency last year - Smith should recognize that regardless of their individual flaws both Lin and Harden know how to initiate an offense and get the high-percentage play for everyone. In addition, in crunch time literally every single other starter on the floor boasts a higher TS% (especially Harden), so he should admit that the ball should not be in his hands then, either. The problem is that after nearly a decade in the league, Smith has shown no inclination to defer on offense. And this could cause issues both on the floor and in the locker room, regardless of how great the chemistry is now - all it takes is one starter who isn't willing to go along with the other 4 who can cause unnecessary drama and wreck any semblance of teamwork. Just look at how a "mediocre" PG in Jeremy Lin was able to get the Knicks playing team ball on offense, but once Melo came back everything shut down because he was unable/unwilling to play within the team's new system. I think the other options like LMA and Gasol are maybe not as "natural" fits in terms of the extra D the team is missing, but in terms of personality are probably mature enough to handle a change in role and are more willing to defer in a new system. Especially if it actually makes their jobs easier and gives the team more success overall. I'm pretty sure that LMA, for example, would love to play where he isn't expected to lead the team in blocks, rebounds, and points every night.
Well, he averaged more than 4 assists last season - that's not bad for a big man without another star on the team. And if you watch him, he actually is a very good passer. And his shooting is not as much of a problem as his shot selection is. One of the reasons his chart looks so bad is because he likes to take contested jumpers. He could have way better averages if he'd just stick to open jumpers. But as you see in that chart, most of his shots came from in close - and that's what we want him to do. In the end its really up to him, how good he wants to be. Atlanta never managed to get the most out of him, the question is, if we could do that.
Dude, he's been in Atlanta for a while. No one really makes the leap to the next level there. I'm not saying he will, but I believe he'd adjust his game and listen to coaches/analysts as it pertains to winning.
Yup, he's a terrible shooter. Plus he has a bad ball-iq, one foot open and he jacks it up instantly(no matter if it's just inside the 3pt line or if someone better is open or if there's a chance for a drive), terrible to watch. Really hope we don't get him, but if we do, hope our staff completely turns around his shot selection and gives him a winning mentality.
I think if Josh Smith is signed with us together with DH, his offense will be reduced to the dunk, and the occassional 1-2 corner 3s per game... would average 14-15 points 10 rebounds and 1.5 - 2 blk shots...
He has 8.0rpg over his whole career, and this is with Horford. Why would he average 10rpg with Dwight and above averagers rebounders for their position in Parsons, Lin, Harden next to him?
The thing is, his offensive approach is horrible, period. It doesn't matter that he's surrounded by mediocre players - giving the ball up to the mediocre open man is still a better option than taking it up on your own and throwing up a contested jumper (that misses half the time) after 15 seconds. Anyone with a minimum of basketball knowledge and self-awareness would be pushing for a different style of play, and he has shown no inclination of not wanting to be the team's first option on every single possession. The guy drains shot clock time and throws away possessions like nobody's business. Maybe he hasn't had the right people around him who have the skills and reputation to keep him "in his place" as the fifth option on offense. But, I think all the evidence of his personality so far shows that it is going to be a big leap. It's one thing to go from being the third scorer to the fourth, or even the second to the third, but going from the dominant first option to literally the last option (who should stay away from as much ball handling as possible) is a huge jump - particularly for a guy who clearly likes having the ball and shooting as much as he can. It's not like he's running around saying, "I would prefer not to shoot so often and get my teammates more involved, but sometimes it's the smart basketball play to force the double team." He just likes having the ball and showing that he can score.
Only consider Smith if it gets Howard to sign and can get him for under the max. He is a very good offensive player close to the basket, but his shot selection is so bad it makes him mediocre at shooting/scoring. He can handle the ball better than most 4's, but it is a curse, because he fancies himself a point forward. His rebounding is mediocre. He can guard 3 positions and can shut down many forwards.
Well all I can say is that if JS comes to htown, I hope that one of our players has enough since to bully him into not shooting the ball unless it is a lay up.
Where are the percentages for when he is open? All the charts tell us is how he shot under all conditions.
To give an idea of how poor of an overall shooter Josh Smith is, you can look at his "true shooting percentage." (an offensive metric that incorporates field goals, 3-pointers, and free throw percentage). The league average is 54 percent. Smith has matched that average once in his career. In the previous two, he has shot 50%. That puts him 272nd overall in the NBA, ranked below the likes of Reggie Evans and Ekpe Udoh. His biggest issue, to me, is that he loves the long two. Smarter teams and shooters recognize this is a shot with high risk and little reward, but Josh (almost a decade into his NBA career) hasn't figured that out. I can not stress enough how unsound Smith's game is as a player away from the rim. As Dean Oliver's AV (Approximate Value) stat measures him, he checks out as "an above average player but below All-Star level." I'd say that describes Smith's game perfectly.
Josh Smith is a great locker room guy, he makes bone headed plays but to suggest that he would disrupt the team is stupid. What he needs is a coach that holds him accountable.
