Lamar Odom/Josh Smith Comparison

[AnakinJoe]

So after watching Lamar Odom during the playoff series, I began to think of his roller-coaster performance in conjunction with Josh Smith. And sure, Smith's defense is pretty consistently outstanding, while Odom is no where close to being an impactful defender. I'm talking more about their offensive games. Both are big guys with inconsistent jumpers, who like to distribute the ball and players who need to spend more time down low in the post. But here's what I wonder, will Smith be something on an under-achiever like Odom? When Odom is on his game, he is a tremendous offensive player with a wide-range of skills. But after all these years in the league, he is still an unreliable teammate who can't seem to play at a consistently high level. At some point, Odom was likely a guy whose fans would say "give him time to mature, he can only get better". Or, "if he had a real coach, he'd be a monster". Well, he's had plenty of time and has been coached by a 9-time Finals winner. Yet, he still can't string together 3-4 great games. Will Smith be Odom (with consistently good defense)?

[hawkman]

No he won't. Smith actually has the drive to get better. Odom was a PHENOM coming out of highschool. I remember him at Rhode Island and he was amazing. His skill level was off the charts. He really could play every position on the court. Smoove doesn't have that advantage. The game doesn't come as easy to him, so he has to work at it. That may be a good thing. The game came easy for Odom, and I'm not sure if he really ever tried to improve. His only problem was focus, both on AND off the court. Smith seems to be pretty focused and tries to make an impact, for better or worse. He adds things to his game and tries to use those things in the actual game. He's improved his post game, one on one moves, and outside shot since his rookie season. I think the consistency will come. You can't forget how raw this kid was when he got here. When it's all said and done, he will be considered THE steal of the draft.

[foeteen14]

josh can't be considered an underachiever because he's already an overachiever. he's already the steal of his draft. 14 or 15 teams passed on this guy, now he's one of the most dynamic players in the league. i'm just waiting for the day he says he's going to bring a championship to atlanta. if that day ever comes, that will be the day he becomes a truely elite player. that will be the day that he fully believes in himself and his abilities so then all he will be focused on is destroying his opponents. some players get that mentality some don't. odom didn't, if he would have, we would be talking about a 10 time allstar at the end of his career. lets see what josh does. but first he has develop his game to a point that he doesn't have to worry about his game. only destroying opponents

[TheNorthCydeRises]

There was a game in the 06 - 07 season in which the Hawks played Phoenix, I believe, in February. It was a very entertaining game in which the Hawks lost toward the end, mainly because no one could stop Amare.

During the 2nd quarter of that broadcast, Smitty and Phoenix color commentator Eddie Johnson switched sides to do color commentary for the other side for about 1/2 the quarter ( I believe both networks were FOX Sports Net affiliates )

When Eddie came to our side, he ranted and raved about our young team, JJ, and then talked about Smith.

He made almost the EXACT same comparison that you did with Smith and Odom offensively. That was the first time I'd heard someone compare those two, and it made perfect sense. Both have a finesse type game about them that makes them special as big men. Eddie also noted Smith's vision and willingness to pass.

But here's what concerns me about Smith, and it has always been criticizm about Odom.

HIS SOFTNESS

Too oftentimes, both of these guys come up weak around the rim. It's a scoop-shot here. A flip-shot there. Pump-faking when they both should just go straight up and either draw the contact or just dunk it.

And when both goes up against a player more physical than them, they both don't elevate their intensity and sometimes allow the physical player to completely take them out of their game. Smith, especially on the boards, comes up weak at times because he can't match the physical play of the opponent. You saw that firsthand with Odom, and especially Gasol in the BOS - LA series.

It's the softness issue that prevents Lamar from being a true star player. And it might do the same with Smith. But if some of Horford's toughness starts to rub off on Smith, watch out.

[Wurider05]

You are right about the softness part. Did anyone else notice the Smoove stopped dunking on people the last year and a half. I mean he still did his alley hoops but it it like he loss some of him aggressiveness when attacking the rim. He is not a finesse player nor should he try to be.

[frosgrim]

I see a some of Odom's game in Smith, but not as much as being mentioned here.

Jump shot:

Where Smith likes to hit jumpers, his whole game isn't predicated on that "tool".

Odom uses the jumper to set up everything in his game.

Now, Smith may be trying to immulate Odem or AK47 with that shooting, but no one in the NBA respects Josh's jumper like they do Odem's or AK's

Slashing game:

This is by far Smith's best offensive move in the half-court. This is not to say he's perfected it, but if he can just get a little more control on his dribble, he'll be practically unstoppable with this move. The one draw back is that Smith can't palm the ball, which is why I think you see so many layup attempts vs. dunks when Smith drives. It can also account for the ball flying out of his hands at times.

Odom doesn't really slash any more and I am not sure why. It could be that the injuries have just taken their toll and Odom doesn't feel he can risk it any more. Nonetheless, slashing is not his game.

Post

Smith needs work here. His hands may be a problem, but he just seemed very awkward trying to back guys in last season. I would like to see him develop this part of his game, but it may take another 2 seasons.

Odom has the post moves when he goes down there. He knows how to spread out his legs and dribble his man into the paint. The problem is that Odom doesn't use this part of his game very much, which I really don't understand.

In all, I would say Smith is MUCH more tough than Odom. Josh has the fire in the belly, he just doesn't know how to access it yet. Odom never has shown that sort of fire or drive. Remember Odom had several character issues coming out of RI and those issues may also demonstrate a general lack of that pure competitative drive that guys like Josh seem to have.

[vdunkndunk]

The comparison that scares me is Kirilenko. Kirilenko stuffed the stat sheets, blocked shots, got steals and assists, got 8 or 9 rebounds a game, and scored 15-18 ppg as a young player. A lot of people thought he was an up-and-coming star, and he got a max contract. Then he never really got much better.

In terms of scoring, Kirilenko's not even close to a max player, and his game kind of reminds of Smoove both in the stat stuffing and in the flawed offensive game. I'm a big fan of Smoove's, but I'm still hoping he doesn't get close to a max contract. He's got a ton of upside and physical talent, but he still doesn't have a ton of offensive skill or polish, and at a certain point you wonder when (or if) it will come. Plenty of guys in high school can shoot and dribble better than Smoove, so it's not like it's just about getting experience. Abdur-Rahim was probably more skilled in the post in high school than Smoove is now...but SAR didn't have near the physical upside.

Basically, right now Smoove is still a gamble if he gets an enormous contract, but not if we can get him for a reasonable price ($10 million a year at most?). Let's hope fiscal sanity carries the day this summer.

[exodus]

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The comparison that scares me is Kirilenko. Kirilenko stuffed the stat sheets, blocked shots, got steals and assists, got 8 or 9 rebounds a game, and scored 15-18 ppg as a young player. A lot of people thought he was an up-and-coming star, and he got a max contract. Then he never really got much better.

They got Boozer and moved AK from the 4 to the 3 where he is less effective.

[vdunkndunk]

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The comparison that scares me is Kirilenko. Kirilenko stuffed the stat sheets, blocked shots, got steals and assists, got 8 or 9 rebounds a game, and scored 15-18 ppg as a young player. A lot of people thought he was an up-and-coming star, and he got a max contract. Then he never really got much better.

They got Boozer and moved AK from the 4 to the 3 where he is less effective.

We're talking about someone who's only averaged as high as 16 ppg one time in his career. He's got a career scoring average of 12 ppg. That's just not worth a max contract no matter where you play him.

[exodus]

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The comparison that scares me is Kirilenko. Kirilenko stuffed the stat sheets, blocked shots, got steals and assists, got 8 or 9 rebounds a game, and scored 15-18 ppg as a young player. A lot of people thought he was an up-and-coming star, and he got a max contract. Then he never really got much better.

They got Boozer and moved AK from the 4 to the 3 where he is less effective.

We're talking about someone who's only averaged as high as 16 ppg one time in his career. He's got a career scoring average of 12 ppg. That's just not worth a max contract no matter where you play him.

I made no mention of his contract.

I am only saying that, like Smith, he is less effective as a 3. That is a big reason why his production has gone down. Plus they have a lot more scoring options than we do.

[AHF]

I think a major difference between Odom and Smith is that Smith is much more intense, in my opinion. I think that mental attitude will make a huge difference in their careers. I am not sure that Smith will ever have all the tools Odom has on offense but I do think he is a player who just wants it more.

[crimedog]

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I think a major difference between Odom and Smith is that Smith is much more intense, in my opinion. I think that mental attitude will make a huge difference in their careers. I am not sure that Smith will ever have all the tools Odom has on offense but I do think he is a player who just wants it more.

Yeah, Smith is a lot more aggressive than Odom. Smith sure as hell has his share of retardedly bad games on offense but he is usually aggressive, to a fault much of the time.

Someone earlier said that they hoped Horford's toughness rubbed off on Smith, in the same vein I hope Smith's aggressiveness and confidence rub off on Horford. Betting on Smith "putting it all together" is a gamble because he is still so raw, but if he does, he'll be scary because he has a ton of confidence to go along with the physical package.