Smith is a streaky shooter, who is a good passer, rebounder and defender. He makes some bad decisions, but he also makes some fantastic decisions when passing and defending. And when he gets hot, he gets hot. I will live with the streaky shooting compared to call of his good qualities. Just like I will live with MT going 3/10 some nights, because 2 out of every 3 games he's either lighting it up or at least scoring adequately and effeciently off the bench.
Last time I checked, plenty of teams who play nothing like the Spurs have won titles. If the Rockets hope to contend, they need to work on their defense. That's what's keeping them from putting together a decent winning streak and rising in the standings.
OP completely ignores what smith brings on the defensive end. those rim protecting and post defense skills don't just grow on trees
i can see where the op was coming from. but let players, especially talented ones, play to their strength is part of a good "system". not i am for a freelance style bball at all. and no coaches can ignore chemistry issues of a bball team.
Last year's team with Josh Smith was the epitome of the Rockets. We went to the WCF and flamed out against a surging Warriors. This year, the Warriors are even stronger and more refined. The Spurs are the Spurs, plus an even better Kawhi Leonard (is this possible), Aldridge, and a re-surging Tony Parker. The thing with Josh Smith is, you have to live and die by him. And when he gives you those miraculous plays that fuel come-backs, he will also take all that hope away from you with boneheaded plays and endless chugging and TOs. He'll get us to a certain point but he won't take us to the promise land.
If DMo was healthy we would not need Smith, he is not, so we do, and Smith is someone that Harden and Howard respect. NEVER underestimate chemistry. This year is a wash out - let's see what happens the rest of it, at least he and Dmo coming back give us a modicum of hope. DD
Let us strive to avoid at all costs any happiness during the season even after victories or five game winning streaks-- if we cannot be assured that the Rockets at this time are true contenders to the Spurs and Warriors; ; if we cannot know what will happen to our players contract wise after the season; if we cannot know for sure who the coach will be; etc. etc. Hey there is nothing wrong with changing to being Spurs or Warrior fans or just to stop watching pro basketball entirely if the trauma of being a Rockets fan is too much for y'all this season.
Well, the Spurs did not win the title every year, and there are many teams tried to copy their model and still failed. So although it can be referred to the most successful model, of course its not the only one. I am not saying the Rox should just copy the Spurs model and it will take us to the promise land. No, I said it already, our options are very limited because of the roster we are having. But when you say : "If the Rockets hope to contend, they need to work on their defense." This statement itself is contradicting to our current style. You can play a free style offense and have up and downs on offense and just hope the talents of the players can carry you to a better overall outcome. No teams ever can play a non-disciplined defense and based on individual talents to make stops. Offense can work with ISO, you can't play 4 on 5 on defense. Defense is all about efforts, very little to do with talents. A lots of the so called defense specialist are actually terrible offensive players.
what exactly the value of this thread... i'm a bit confused. What exactly is the myth here? are you saying that we shouldn't relate these last 2 wins with the addition to Smith? If so i think you are incorrect. Either Lawson or Smith are creators outside of Harden and one of those guys has to be in the game when Harden is having a bad shooting night (yes he is in a funk this year). Lawson is new to this team this year and there are some confidence issues that until the last few weeks he has started to shed. Hopefully soon Lawson by this year will be taking the ball away from harden and creating. Smith is a different story as he has been here since last year. He knows the players, he knows the role, he knows the plays so he jumps Lawson as the 2nd creator. Lawson. The need for the 3rd creator is ideal because you minimize your risks during the playoffs. If both Harden and Smith are not playing well the 3rd option in Lawson would be valuable.
^^^ He's saying that the noticeable chemistry Smith brings to this team is Fool's Gold, because a good coach like Thibs will dismiss it as not needed. Basically, he's trying to come up with a new approach to saying he doesn't like Josh Smith.
You are wrong. If this is somehow too difficult for you to understand, then try this. If this team tomorrow will add a chucker like Jamal Crawford, it could actually bring more benefits to this team than adding a guy like say Tony Allen - which this team badly needs to improve its defense like many others said. And of course, regardless that Thibs is a good coach or not, he is not a good fit here with this roster.
I think this is a good topic of discussion, but other than that, agree with your post 100%. Now what will happen when (if) DMO comes back?
Josh Smith provides the PF defense this team desperately needs. As you point out with Allen, it's not a myth what Josh brings on defense. And his chemistry is so powerful, it elevates everyone's defensive hustle and focus. You're just trying to be a clever thread starter with a new way to say you don't like Josh Smith. We all can read right through your post.
We really do have the sh!ttiest fans. Even when things turn around there will always be Debbie Downers and a bunch of spoiled crybabies. A month ago this team sucked, it was completely unwatchable. How do I know, because halfway through the Nuggets and Nets games I stopped watching. They played with little effort and zero heart and there were some morons on here begging to trade James Harden for Jimmy Butler who has never been to the nba finals and has never carried his team to the conference finals. Now this team seems to have found new life, the offense is clicking, the defense is coming along and yes Josh Smith is a part of that. He is a big time chemistry guy on this team. Last month this team sucked now it doesn't, be happy, cheer for the Rockets or stfu because once again, this is our year mudafurkers. And another thing, you're stupid if you think James Harden is going to let Smoove leave again, he'll be a Rocket until we're good and done with him. Oh and Thibs started as an assistant, JVG was an assistant, phol Jackson was an assistant and so was Rudy T. Not saying John Blair will coach this team for the next 20yrs but coaches have to start somewhere. People need to give him some credit he's not that bad of a coach, the players love him and he's got swag, we could do worse. Let's see how this season plays out first. You might die tomorrow and you're worried about free agency. Live in the now
