That's not a lot for a good passer. As long as he's averages more assists than turnovers it's ok IMO.
Agreed, I'm still giving him the benefit of the doubt that he can change his ways and mature as a player. From last nights game where they mentioned his dad talking to him about playing in Houston, hopefully his dad as more to say to him and Josh actually listens to it.
Smith is one of the most frustrating Rocket players I have watched in my life. He has so much athleticism, talent and court vision -- but he makes so many terrible decisions on the court. His defense is normally very good, and I'd thought he could play SFs who play at the 4 (like Durant), but last night he completely gave Durant open perimeter shots, to the point McHale had to put an actual SF back on the court. How disappointing. If Smith can stay on the court against small ball lineups, just imagine the rebounding edge we would have -- and, with his perimeter skills, I thought he'd be able to pull that off. He makes so many great passes, but then he hands the ball to the other team like he did last night, or he tries to make a pass that is not even close to being available. His turnovers are an issue --especially late game. The prospect of him in the game late on a playoff game makes me very uneasy. His drives to the hoop are seemingly unable to be defended at times, but then he'll take long range shots -- which he is terrible at. Why!?!? Why would you shoot a long range shot when you have over 10 years of experience telling you that you are bad at it and that it is not good for your team? Smith makes me yell at my TV more than any Rocket we have had in the Harden era. I know you sign him for 2 mill when you can, and I supported the decision (Hell, I thought he was under appreciated even when he was in Detroit). But, after watching him thus far, having him on the court scares the heck out of me.
His career turnover rate is basically the same as D-mo's and Harden's, and less than Howard. Fact is that if you are gonna create offense for yourself or others you are gonna turn the ball over. He certainly can't continue to turn the ball over at his current rate, but I expect that to improve.
Gotta play the guy in 3-4 minutes spurts. He does great things initially but within minutes he starts to regress and take those jumpers or throw passes with extra hot sauce on them.
That is where a strong coach will bench him so that those 3-4 minute stretches become 5, then 6, and 7-8 minute ones before his natural boneheadedness kicks in. DD
McHale did take a good timeout last night in the 4th when the Thunder got to within 15 and Smith started getting out of control a little. I think the reason McHale gives Smith so much leeway at times is because the bench has been really good since his arrival. They're consistently picking up the slack for the starters when they don't have it going(which unfortunately is most nights). And they rarely blow leads the way they used to before the Brewer and Smith acquisitions(and the rest of the team finally got healthy again). So you live with the bad since the good seems to outweigh it.
He's essentially playing the James Harden role, but as a 4 that can drive the lane and dish it out if the defense collapses on him. That's really the key to keeping our offense fluid and successful. He does make some boneheaded plays that make me groan, but his skillset could just be the missing ingredient that gets us from a 1st round exit to championship if it all works out.
To get the most out of him, he needs to keep himself in check from doing too much. If he can't do it, McHale has to step up and bench him when he starts playing away from his strengths.
are y'all forgetting that if he didn't have warts we wouldn't have gotten him for a song and a breakdance? We're paying this guy peanuts and he's filling out the box score and making more winning plays then Black ever would. Yet he's the most frustrating player? Did you watch steve francis and how he ate up the cap? Cato's early days? Matt Maloney? Trevor's Drive to a dunk that he never hits and rarely gets a foul called? Mo Taylor's defenseless corpse?
The good easily outweighs the bad right now with him. Definitely still makes a few dumb plays a game, but also makes a few outstanding plays.
So you think McHale is a strong coach then? Because that is what he did. He had Harden resting in the 4th and at around the 6:41 mark Smith had a horrible turnover that led to a layup, missed a terrible jump shot, got his own rebound, missed a layup (hit the bottom of the rim) that led to a fastbreak where Westbrook missed a wide open 3 and McHale called a timeout and sat Smith down. That should be the strategy. Play smart, within the offense, you stay out there. You lose it and you are out.
Great post. McHale did indeed do this. He also pulled Smith when he was playing defense on Durant as if Durant was just another power forward instead of the premier three point shooter that he actually is. Some of us may wish McHale has a bit shorter leash on Smith, but we do have to give credit where it is due, because McHale has been yanking Smith in recent games when he starts getting a little to Josh Smithy.
Smith annoys me when he shoots jumpers, because you can almost see his thought process. He gets the ball beyond the arc, initially he's looking to pass. No one covers him and of course no one is left open, because there are five defensive players to cover four guys on offense. You can almost see the shock where he's like "What the hell? They're leaving me open??? Okay... well if they're that dumb, it's time to make em pay!?!?" Three seconds after receiving the pass and mulling over those options he's tossed up a brick and is incredulous that his open shot didn't go in.
He gets THAT look in his eyes a lot. You know the one. The one where he says "I'm going to score." Last night he was on the fastbreak and he had two flankers that hit the corners for an outlet pass on the break and he had three defenders collapsing on his drive into the paint. What did he do? Drove straight and lost control of the ball, Luckily for him, the ball bounced off a defender's hand as it went out and we kept possession, but all of us in the stands on that side of the court knew what was about to happen. You could hear an audible grown in the crowd as he drove. We saw two open guys on the wings but Josh had that "Josh Smithy" look in his eyes...
I wish he would just attack the basket in those situations. He has soooooo much space in front of him and he is so fast, he could almost always get into the paint when he is that open. And, a lot of times, teams are going to overreact, and he'll be able to make a pass to someone who, you know, is actually good at shooting basketballs into hoops. And if they don't overreact, he'll most likely be able to have a decent shot in the paint. Also, my throat will be a lot less sore the next day from not having to yell at my tv screen.
His blown layups really surprise me. He is tall, long and athletic. He shouldn't have a problem at making them. I dislike his outside shooting, but unfortunately that is expected all the time.
