On whether to fall in love with Josh Smith
by hawksdawgs on Nov 9, 2009 10:06 AM EST
17 comments
I know two facts. Josh Smith is playing at a level he has only briefly touched in his first five seasons, and Josh Smith will break your heart.
The Inspector is never going to be a perfect player. Those do not exist anyway so it is no real knock on him. Josh will shoot a few too many jumpers. He will whine to the refs. And he will probably never be a lock down one on one defender. But so far this season, he has limited or improved upon the negatives, and it seems that extra energy has just been poured into the positives. Are you watching Josh streak down the court off opposing team misses? Are you seeing him not just contest shots but down right know he is going to block the two on one fast break? Apologies for being a bit vulgar, but it is a "screw you" style of play.
Because of distractions and self limitations, Josh at full speed has been so rare he does not even know how to stay on the court. The guy is averaging four fouls a game. With Mike Woodson and his foul aversion personality, that recklessness is a no no, and it has kept Josh at 31 minutes a game.
Well, he is making the most of them. A PER of almost 25, shooting close to 60% from the floor, 2.9 blocks a game, and maybe the most shocking of all 4.4 assists. The guy is leading the Hawks in every major category but points and rebounds. If Josh found two more rebounds a game he would be on the fringes of the MVP discussion.
And before you think I am saying he will be there come April, I know some of these numbers will not hold. The homerism does not run that deep. The PER will probably drop, the shooting percentage cannot hover around 60, and a full assist per game jump over his career high would be staggering, but right now, we should appreciate what Josh Smith is doing on the basketball court. The Denver game was a team victory, but it was a blowout because of Josh. He is playing at a level we have craved for years.
People rarely about-face in personality, and Josh Smith has always been a pouty, enigmatic, emotional player with questionable decision making. The guy could revert to annoying, briefly electric, frustrating, forces you drink beer at an alarming rate player he was the past five season. But if Josh Smith can continue to channel his energy for good, he may be looking at his first all star game. Regardless of projections though and without needing to debate who the Hawks best player is, the preseason murmings appear to be true, Atlanta will go as far as Josh Smith takes them.
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He started off last sesaon playing like this
Than he landed on Zaza’s foot and was out for a month. When he came back he just wasn’t the same. He didn’t trust his body. Rebounding and FT% dropped…..hopefully he will ride this momentum into the playoffs lol.
coming back from that injury
killed josh last year. your right. just not the same guy.
and he combined his physical limitations with a horrible attitude. the weeks leading up to the charlotte game where he was taken out and later suspended was some of the worst effort i have ever seen out of hm.
came back from the suspension on fire but never could return to the level of those first few games.
the question is whether the first personal setbacks throw him completely off again or not.
Hey Ariose
Nice to see you joining in. KevinA at the AJC. Always like your insights.
by RivBoatGambler on Nov 9, 2009 4:42 PM EST up reply actions
I love it, but wish he could add...
double digit boards to his current great play, and if he’d spend more time around the paint instead of 20 feet away, I think he could get them.
Although I agree that a year full of good health could make a big difference in April whether we get Smoove, or just Josh.
Keep it up!
I am going to do a little fantasy bragging here, I snagged J-smooth in the 3rd round hoping to see some of his upside come out this year and he hasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Not only is he leading the Hawks, he is leading or close to the lead on my FANTASY team in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, and assists! Thats across the board production from him. In the interview they mentioned he hasn’t even attempted a three yet which I think is great for his game and the Hawks overall attack.
It's going to take
a team effort to keep Josh motivated. I noticed him working hard to establish position in the post and I also noticed our guards completely ignore him. They are going to have to acknowledge Josh when he’s working that hard under the basket. It’s the only way to keep him from straying 20 feet away from the basket.
I don’t think I can fall in love with a player who can’t make a basket consistently unless he’s at point blank range to the hoop. Hell Josh can’t even make 60% of his free throws. Then there’s the pouting, the needless technical fouls, the seeming belief that blocking shots is the only D required of him, the sub-par rebounding for a player of his athleticism, …. Josh is the closest thing there is in basketball to Jeff Francoeur (and that’s not a compliment).
he is making all those shots close to the rim though
people ask why dwight howard doesn’t have many good post move, because he has never needed them.
josh may never be a top 3 player in the league, but his skills could get him to the all star game if he does not make an outside shot the rest of the season.
@redwards95
“Josh is the closest thing there is in basketball to Jeff Francoeur (and that’s not a compliment).”
That literally made me laugh out loud.
I love smoove!
But josh has the tendency to shut smoove down when the refs call a bogus foul. He whines too long on a play and causes a defensive lapse for the play. Besides hat. smoove is great. He has heart and makes the right decisions. josh has attitude. if he combines attitude with good play that could be a whole nother player. He has touched it but doesnt stay there. We have glimpsed it in the last five years but smoove has to make it permanent. If he can do that he can change the future.
by Hawksgirl on Nov 9, 2009 1:43 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Smooth = Love
I started watching the Hawks the year we drafted Josh. Last game was his best ever. The potential of Smooth is what made me stick as a fan. I see a break out year for the 23 year old and becoming the best player on many teams. Fans love points and Smooth can score a few but his real potential is defense and transition presence. Not many can take over large chuncks of games and totally disrupt another teams offence. The best part is I don’t think he’s done. The best is yet to come.
by RivBoatGambler on Nov 9, 2009 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
This is a no brainer to me......
It’s easy to fall in love w/ Josh, because for all the potential he has, I love laughing at J-Smoove’s flaws (Actually all of my favorite players weren’t perfect compared to a Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant for example). But I must admit I am laughing much less this season than last. I have yet to see Josh throw the ball away on a fast break in which he clearly should have given up the ball. With his improving shot selection I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to exhale "why is he shooting that?!? Last year he was so bad me and my buddies nicknamed Josh “O.C. Outta Control.” Now I still get a kick when he frowns at the refs and that hasn’t been a big detriment to his game thus far. And now I’m even cool w/ the missed free throws. If he can attempt 5-6 free throws per game then that is a sign to me he is aggressively getting to the paint and not settling for the jumpshot all the time. If he Josh keeps improving I’ll be forced to love another Hawk.
But one question I want to ask everyone. Last season everyone questioned if Woody was the right coach for Josh. But as we praise Josh on his improved play how much credit should Woody get? I’m pretty sure if Josh was playing poorly, Woody, somehow, someway, would get some of the blame.
by xavip on Nov 9, 2009 2:41 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
excellent point
if only because I didn’t even think to give credit to Woody. which, whether he deserves it or not, should at least be considered.
but i can excuse myself from giving credit (or at least a lot of credit) to woody because
1. after five years of doing the same thing, it seems much more likely (only possible?) for Josh Smith to change from within. not sure what coach tactic woodson could pull that he had not already pulled (unless he had not pulled any).
2. i think coaches get credit for the big picture picture. if josh buys into a certain role for 82 games, woody should get credit. that is his job. to define the correct roles and have players accept them. seven games is on the player’s motivation.
3. and i have always blamed josh’s short comings on josh. outside of the position of josh on the court sometimes and the lack of an up temp style over the years, i find it quite easy to blame josh for josh.
well....
Woody gets a bit of credit but only smoove knows how to progress into the role he is due to. woody helps but smoove does the finale.
by Hawksgirl on Nov 9, 2009 6:42 PM EST via mobile reply actions
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