So, why can't Josh Smith play the 3 in our system?

Tell me why he can't do it. He just shot 38% from 3 in the playoffs. He was selective, moved around, created, and knocked down 3's. Who is it that he couldn't defend at the 3?

I know this experiment failed in Detroit but they weren't encouraging him to park it outside and shoot the 3. They were really trying to discourage him from taking jump shots at all. And that's where the fail came from.

IF Smith continues to work on his 3-ball all this summer, why can't he play the 3 for us?

 

Ok, I get that they don't respect his shot.

But times they are a chang'n. They didn't respect his shot in the playoffs and he burned them with it. 38% man. Playoffs. That's very nice in a pressurized environment.

Now, I realize, small sample size, handful of games, not enough attempts, etc. But what I'm trying to say is the situation is different here. He HAS to shoot the 3 here to be viable. It's not a question of should he shoot the 3. The question is WILL HE SHOOT THE 3 and SHOOT IT AN EFFICIENT RATE??

Because we're gonna shoot the 3. And if guys are gonna pull their mits down and dribble around like Mr. _ones does, they won't stay on the team. You gotta pull it baby if you're gonna stay long-term with us.

So with that in mind, we all know Smith is burning up the nets all summer.....right? You do know he's throwing up 3's and free throws all summer.....don't you?

So, with that mindset that you have to shoot the 3, and with him working on the 3-ball all summer (hopefully with the same crew that worked with EGO and others), then why would he not be able to play 3 and play it very well for us? He's a sick defender. I don't see many if any 3's that he's not going to water down their production quite seriously.

Tell me why he can't play the 3 for us if he gets is shot down consistently?

 

Yookay. Get it. So take him into the blocks.

Yes, but if we draft a point guard all that bringing the ball up stuff is going to be minimized. Besides, why can't he bring the ball against SFs? How many SFs in this league are gonna attack his dribble bringing the ball up?

What 3's are you talking about here? Lebron???? You wanna go small on Lebron?

What difference does who he defends have to do with where he passes the ball from? It's 2 different ends of the floor. You don't think he can get to the elbows if a smaller player is defending him? So, let's say he can't get to the elbow to shoot passes. What prevents him from dropping into the blocks and posting up smalls?



>>>>Some of you are approaching this as if 38% from 3 during the playoffs was a fluke. I readily understand that with Smith's history. But, what if he comes back next season and is banging them down again?? How long can we go and still call it a fluke?

There was no one more disgusted by Smith's shooting early than I was. After the first week I was ready to can the guy. But...he did work his way into our system. And He is extremely gifted. And.....he did pull that 3-ball for us when we needed it. Sure, it was streaky. But he did hit 38%.

I'm saying what if he comes back next year really prepared to shoot the 3's? He did shoot 33% in 2011 and he did shoot 33% for us during the regular season. Now, he's working on the 3-ball because we told him to shoot it and not shoot those stupid 20-footers.

I'm saying if he comes back shooting the 3 well, why can't he defend 3's?? Lebron?? What better matchups do we have against Lebron defensively than Smith?? Durant?? Durant shook us on a 4/6 season. Ariza didn't help us any there. Do you really think Ariza has a defensive advantage over SMoove when defending those guys? Oh, I know we can sort through the matchups and find some player that would burn Smith. But we can do that with any player in the league......even including Lebron now.