To all you Josh Smith detractors

[thecampster]

I got called out on this board for being Pro Josh Smith biased last week. You guys were moaning when during the "preseason" his numbers were below par. So for all you guys calling CRAP on Josh in the flare up with Woodson, I'd like to let you know the stat line for Josh in the opening night 14 point road win in Orlando.

17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 steals, 1 assist and No turnovers. Shot 6-11 from the floor and 1-2 from three point range. You guys that jump on and off the bandwagon agitate me. Get a clue guys....Josh Smith is the straw that stirs the coffee in Atlanta. As goes Smith, so go the Hawks.

And I restate what I said that night. You take the guy into your office and meet with him if you have a problem with him. Nothing good comes from calling out a professional in front of his peers. Woodson was wrong for singling him out in front of the rest of the team.

[Admin]

Hmm, it seems to me that Woody did light a fire under Smith and he responded. I don't think you can have it both ways in your argument by talking about how good of a game Smith said and then getting on Woody for calling him out.

Way to go Woody! Way to go Smoove! Way to go Hawks!!!

[mrhonline]

Ugh. I had hoped the fact that the Hawks had re-signed Smith would stop these "I told you so" threads.

Apparently I was once again too optimistic.

[WraithSentinel]

It was good to see Smoove come out fired up tonight.

[DrReality]

His play was masterful and I don't know how many shots he altered. Really changed the flow of the game. And the block on Howard was incredible.

[DJlaysitup]

It was good to see Smoove come out fired up tonight.

I'm a big Smoove fan - but to be fair - he is always fired up going up against Dwight/ORL. I will reserve judgement for awhile.

But man that was an awesome weakside block against Dwight late - you could see it coming. Can't argue with that stat line....Heckuva Game.

[TheTruth]

I hate threads like this...especially after just one game. But aside from that, Smoove's biggest stat to me, by far, is ZERO turnovers. If he can keep those down, Smoove will really earn his nickname as it regards to his gameplay.

[DJlaysitup]

His play was masterful and I don't know how many shots he altered. Really changed the flow of the game. And the block on Howard was incredible.

Yep Doc...did you see that time in the 2nd half when he came over on an ORL driving guard (who should have gone straight up) and the guy changed his shot and rolled it off the rim? That was just one.

[Wretch]

Good game for Josh, but pretty typical of a decent night for him. He's a game changer in my book, but not on the offensive end. 10 boards, 5 blocks, 4 steals...that's a solid contribution that you can pretty much count on. What I liked about Josh tonight is that he played within the game. When he tries to do too much, it hurts the team. We'll be good if he can play under control like he did tonight and he'll average double digits.

[exodus]

When Smith doesn't force things he can be such a huge asset. He just has to realize that he isn't a playmaker or a long range shooter. Today he didn't force things on offense although he took a couple of 3s which always makes me cringe.

I wasn't a Childress fan but i would like to see Smith play more like him on offense, playing without the ball and letting the other guys be the playmakers.

[crimedog]

Josh is one of my favorite players in the league but one game doesn't mean much. He made some long jumpers that he shouldn't have taken and took some crazy shots around the hoop that he didn't make. The zero TOs is nice but not something I expect on the regular.

Got a lot of D boards but Orlando missed a lot of shots (that can happen though, when one player has 5 blks).

End of the day he's still flawed as hell and still one of two critically important players on this team. Those that didn't recognize his importance (calling him a bench caliber player in their "scouting reports" or an average defensive presence; you know who you are) weren't taken seriously anyway so this thread isn't necessary.

[Kimsey]

JS did everything out there tonight. You can't expect him to do it every night because he does everything most other players won't do. I'm sure he appreciated playing the first 15 minutes or so from tip off with out a break from Woody.

[High5]

These call out threads are LAME. Especially ones acting like you're some crazy maverick defending the fan favorite.

[thecampster]

To be honest guys you can ignore my venom. Although the previously mentioned thread ticked me off, I'm actually more bent that i got called in to work half way through the second quarter. Had to listen to the game on the way to work since I was home I didn't preset the DVR to tape it. One of the guys I worked with called out at the last minute and I know he wasn't sick. So I missed watching half of opening night.

[thefloydian]

So basically you're saying "I told you so" to no one in particular, and your point is that "Josh Smith is good at basketball." Why do people even bother making threads like this?

[thecampster]

So basically you're saying "I told you so" to no one in particular, and your point is that "Josh Smith is good at basketball." Why do people even bother making threads like this?

No I was referencing some of the pretty moronic things said in this thread. http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index....howtopic=333673

[BusBoyIsBack]

Who cares how many points Josh Smith scores when he plays in control like that?

I knew he played in control but zero turnovers really tells the story.

Now obviously Im not going to get my hopes up that he plays within control like this EVERY Game. Shoot most young players can't even do this.

But it's encouraging to see nonetheless.

He attacked the basket offensively instead of settling for jumpers.

He avoided the charges when he was leading the fast break.

He looked like he had solid midrange jumper especially on the gutsy shot he took to end an Orlando run.

He knew when and when not to go for the blocked shot and was pretty crafty defensively including drawing the charge on Dwight.

Edited October 30, 2008 by BusBoyIsBack

[diamond_dave]

Who cares how many points Josh Smith scores when he plays in control like that?

I knew he played in control but zero turnovers really tells the story.

Now obviously Im not going to get my hopes up that he plays within control like this EVERY Game. Shoot most young players can't even do this.

But it's encouraging to see nonetheless.

He attacked the basket offensively instead of settling for jumpers.

He avoided the charges when he was leading the fast break.

He looked like he had solid midrange jumper especially on the gutsy shot he took to end an Orlando run.

He knew when and when not to go for the blocked shot and was pretty crafty defensively including drawing the charge on Dwight.

He had a great game, but I must admit when he was shooting those long jumpers, I was yelling 'NO!!!!'. It just happened that they went in tonight. He shot one very early in the shotclock when we should have been milking the clock, but if he makes them you can't really complain. I hope he keeps it up.

I do think he has something to prove against Philly as they choose Brand over him this summer. You know he wants them to know they made the wrong choice.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The play that impressed me the most last night, was when he went to the hole and dunked it with two hands in traffic. He NEVER does that. If he start being that aggressive all the time, the sky is the limit for the kid.

Great game for him. He played very under control last night.

I don't mind a few long jumpers, if they're coming late in the shot clock or if he is at the top of the key wide open. If he does hit an outside shot, it usually comes when he has a straight on look at the basket. Maybe the backboard helps him gauge the shot better, when he has a straight on look.

[exodus]

The play that impressed me the most last night, was when he went to the hole and dunked it with two hands in traffic. He NEVER does that.

He did that all the time as a rookie. When he was a rookie he tried to put someone on a poster every time he got near the rim. Then after he won the dunk contest he decided to prove he could do more than dunk and started going up soft all the time.

He needs to get back to dunking. It is ridiculous that he scored more points on dunks as a rookie than he did last year.