Positive notes on Smith

exodus · November 5, 2007

Smith is taking a lot of heat, and rightly so, about the last two games. No question he needs to get his head in the game and realize that he is better off being a 3rd or 4th option on offense and pick his spots.

But he is doing some things well. He has been crashing the boards and hasn't missed a foul shot yet. Defensively he was all over Sheed last night. Sheed was 3-12.

Smith is also doing a good job as usual getting blocks and steals.

I think part of his problem is that, having worked on his game hard, he wants to show everything he can do right away rather than letting the game come to him. Playing for a contract may make him force things also.

AnakinJoe · November 5, 2007

I am far from being a huge Smith fan, in fact, I'd consider myself a Smith critic if anything. But I do recognize that he has started the past few seasons slowly. Not a knock, several guys take a few games to get their game in order. So while I am a critic, I have refrained from commenting because I kind of expected this start. Just like I expect him to have about 20-25 games where he will look like a future HOFer. My concern is that I think he will likely be that kind of player forever. For every brilliant block, there will be an amazingly stupid 3 point attempt. Every great offensive rebound will be followed by a turnover worthy of YMCA ball. Every "I can't believe he did that" play is met with a "why did he do that" play. When he pushes the ball up the floor on fast breaks, not only is there a 50/50 chance he will turn the ball over, he also removes the best finisher from that fast break, himself. (Would you rather have Smith on the wing on a fast break or Lue?) But he's so focused on "making a play" that he often doesn't make "the right play". And I'm not convinced that will change anytime soon.

If nothing else, this (I believe) is why it was smart not to extend him last week. This guy is NOT fully baked and if he continues to be both incredibly good and incredibly bad in the same game, then that HAS TO influence the value of his contract. Lastly, AK47 received a max deal and I'd be willing to bet Utah regrets that. So just because a comparable player received a bloated deal, doesn't mean another team is required to make the same mistake. (And if Kevin Martin keeps up the Reggie Miller imitation at $11M/season, don't hold your breath expecting the market to reward Smith with a max deal).

coachx · November 5, 2007

The 3 free throws, ON THE ROAD, to tie the game in the final seconds. That was HUGE !

Smith has some ice in his viens. He can draw from that expierence down the road when he is in similar siutaions.

bfwolf · November 5, 2007

Great post.

jerrywest · November 5, 2007

Smith needs to learn how to play in the system. He could lead the league with 30+ ppg if he was in an expansion team; but for teams that have good pieces, he has to learn to fit in. Great players wouldn't want to play with ADHD kids like that. He'd disrupt their rhythms too much.

This team has to find a rhythm. Woody needs to dump his favorite play of Lue dribbling for 20 seconds and then passing to Smith at the three point line. An elementary school coach wouldn't allow that play.

coachx · November 5, 2007

Quote:

This team has to find a rhythm. Woody needs to dump his favorite play of Lue dribbling for 20 seconds and then passing to Smith at the three point line. An elementary school coach wouldn't allow that play.

Funny but true

KB21 · November 5, 2007

I agree. I've called Josh the "Andruw Jones" of the Atlanta Hawks on here before, and that moniker still fits, IMO.

Josh Smith is a player that is dripping with athleticism and talent, but he is also a player that has his mind set on what he is. That mindset doesn't really fit with the reality of what he is though.

For every open court dunk that gets people on their feet and every blocked shot that makes you wonder how he did it, there are the deep perimeter shots that he is prone to taking as well as the turnovers that he creates when he tries to put the ball on the floor.

This isn't that different from Andruw Jones. With Andruw, he would hit a towering home run in one at bat and then pull off the outside slider in the next at bat because he is trying to pull that outside pitch. Andruw Jones never bought into the idea of hitting the outside pitch to the opposite field, and as a result, he just went through the worst season of his career and bought himself a ticket out of Atlanta.

AnakinJoe · November 5, 2007

I used to compare Smith to #7 (the on the field version) but without the 60%+ team winning percentage. Off the chart athleticism. Playing IQ? Not so much. A magnificent scramble one play and an asinine interception the next. But I think I like the Andruw comparison better. It's dead-on right.

thesheedera · November 5, 2007

Quote:

I agree. I've called Josh the "Andruw Jones" of the Atlanta Hawks on here before, and that moniker still fits, IMO.

Josh Smith is a player that is dripping with athleticism and talent, but he is also a player that has his mind set on what he is. That mindset doesn't really fit with the reality of what he is though.

For every open court dunk that gets people on their feet and every blocked shot that makes you wonder how he did it, there are the deep perimeter shots that he is prone to taking as well as the turnovers that he creates when he tries to put the ball on the floor.

This isn't that different from Andruw Jones. With Andruw, he would hit a towering home run in one at bat and then pull off the outside slider in the next at bat because he is trying to pull that outside pitch. Andruw Jones never bought into the idea of hitting the outside pitch to the opposite field, and as a result, he just went through the worst season of his career and bought himself a ticket out of Atlanta.

But many people believe that AJ was constantly out of shape/lazy while I don't think that's a rap Smith has had to deal with much.

Smith seems to have so much more desire and intensity that I think the comparison falls a bit short.

KB21 · November 5, 2007

Andruw was never out of shape and lazy though. The guy worked on his game relentlessly. He has an indoor batting cage in his house and would spend countless hours in the Braves batting cage trying to get his swing right. Andruw's problem has always been that he tries to pull everything.

As a contrast, look at Jeff Francoeur. A year ago, Jeff was a .260 hitter that struck out too much because he was trying to pull everything. This year, Jeff started hitting pitches where they were thrown. He would take the outside pitch to th opposite field, the down the middle pitch up the middle, and pull anything on the inside part of the plate. While his power suffered some, Jeff went from being a .260 hitter to being a near .300 hitter because of his change in approach. I fully expect Jeff to maintain his approach with an increase in his power to all fields. Marvin Williams would be my comparison to Jeff Francoeur on the Hawks so far. Where Jeff needed to learn a little patience, Marvin needed to gain the aggressiveness he has shown so far.

Duff_Man · November 5, 2007