I don't think it was necessarily Smith himself playing better defense on Aldridge, it was the team as a whole, we were doubling him which is something we never did in last year's playoffs (or at least not a lot).
Didn't bill say on the broadcast a couple games ago that it was Josh that asked to come off bench. I think it's working just fine.
Josh should start with Dmo when Dwight is out, however, Dmo should start when Dwight plays. Joey Dorsey is flat out horrible, he's barely 6'8" and can't score on the offensive end. Let him play against the 2nd string PF/C.
Agreed. I was totally against starting Josh earlier in the season but that was because we had Dwight at C and DMO didn't deserve a demotion to the bench.
NO!!!! Josh Smith is showing how great he is playing transition ball The 2nd unit is all about the transition ball you would be an absolute moron to take him off the bench and put him in the starting lineup
In thinking about this question, don't forget the play of Joey Dorsey. Last night, he played the best defense on LMA of anyone...in fact while I was watching I never saw LMA score on Joey. He showed the strength to not allow LMA to back it down, back it down. "Hot garbage" Joey, as some on here called him, provides some much needed cushion to the foul prone other bigs left on our team. Also, TJones isn't playing like he was pre-injury. We probably have some rough sleding ahead until D12 returns...but for now I think Coach McHale is wise to continue to start Joey.
I'm not completely against the idea. Slide DMo over to C and start JSmith at PF. I think this is a better interior defensive lineup and a better offensive lineup. You'd just have to make sure that JSmith isn't one of the main offensive options in this lineup. Then bring Brewer off the bench first, move Smith to C and run small ball. Line up would look like this. Starting Lineup Dmo Smith Ariza Harden Bev 2nd Unit Smith Ariza/Jones Brewer/Ariza Harden Terry JSmith makes BIG contributions on defense when he's out there. ESPECIALLY when paired with Brewer and Ariza. While DH12 is out I think it would be worth a shot trying the line up. In fact anytime this team makes comebacks in games its usually a lineup with Harden/Brewer or Ariza/Smith, right?
Legit point being given here. There was one big defender who was totally outclassed defensively. I'm not picking on him. It's just fact. We would have been better off to only play Dorsey, DMo, and Smith at the big spots and fill in the rest of the big minutes with smalls or extra wings. Did anybody else notice Portland's main difference making lineup? Two point guards (DL and CJM), a wing (WM) and 2 big bigs (LA, RL, ML, CK)
Based on how well he's played that would be the obvious decision. However he has aged and seems to really fit in nicely with the second unit and has accepted this role because it was his idea. Keep in mind DMo didn't play 1 meaningful minute last season in the playoffs, so Smith off the bench is a great asset moving forward when Dwight comes back.
Yes, that was a scary effective line-up. Batum was playing terrible and that line-up really gave the Rockets match-up problems....which eventually was the difference in the game.
