Dear Josh Smith

[LOL_Hawks]

Speedy Claxton said it best on his twitter:

smoove is the most important person on the team when he plays well we always win

I wouldn't go that far since there is that weird stat of us NEVER winning when Smoove puts up 30+ points, but he's right: This team lives and dies with how Smoove plays. If Josh is playing great, more than likely we're winning. If Josh is stinking the place up, we're getting mollywocked.

But yeah, I basically agree with the main message: Smoove is MUUUUUUUUUUUUCHHHH better when he's not hanging around on the perimeter waiting for 3s that the other team is basically willing to concede.

[mrhonline]

The thing is, the Hawks don't need Smith to score to win. Surely, surely, surely, he realizes that...right?

[crimedog]

The thing is, the Hawks don't need Smith to score to win. Surely, surely, surely, he realizes that...right?

He's our leading scorer in this series...

Unless Joe can start handling these doubles or Al develops some sort or shot creating ability, we need him to score if we are going to win, it would be very nice if he were to score like he did in game 1 more often.

Edited April 29, 2009 by crimedog

[buckeye242424]

Josh's numbers don't mean anything in relation to the point of this thread. The point is that no matter what his numbers are they are significantly better when he's not shooting long jumpers. Can ANYONE here disagree with that statement?

He also plays a much better brand of basketball when he's not complaining about calls. He's the one player on the team who is capable of pumping us up or deflating us and when he's complaining like he was the last few games it's incredibly deflating. Again, can anyone disagree with this?

Josh Smith deserves to be called out for his mental mistakes just as much as everyone else on the team but for me I expect more out of Josh since he's undoubtedly the most important player for us in the grand scheme of things. And once again, can anyone disagree?

I do. I think having a guy like JJ on the team impacts the game on a bigger scale. Defense on the other team must account for JJ at all times on the floor. He's a nuisance due to his ability to score anywhere. We see teams throw mulitiple players at him and he's a disruption. JJ's bad games can still net you 13 points and 5 assists. His good games speaks for themselves. JJ is the gas that gets this car going, his importance to the success of the team is huge.

[JackB1]

So what's the over/under on how many 3's Josh will take tonite?

I say 3 (and 3 times I will be screaming at him from my seats :))

[HawksFan87]

no matter how many he takes, you'll just have to live with it lol.. just like everyone else.. He's not gonna stop taking jumpers regardless. So no point in wasting your time talking about it all day..

Edited April 29, 2009 by jsmoovefan

[HamHawk]

...or stay inside and get nasty

Getting inside is our only hope of a halfcourt game. If they insist on keeping the tempo slower and force us to a halfcourt, let's not just try for some pop shot jumper game. We've got the athleticism for more.