Josh Smith playing the 3/SF may not be a concern!, with LD as Coach now!

[coachx]

:brick wall:

+2

[AHF]

Smith doesn't play good defense on the perimeter...

Very true. Smith has not shown a good ability to mark perimeter players and quick penetrators in man defense.

Also, putting him on the perimeter means that he is not guarding the basket on defense (i.e., blocking shots) and is not in a good position to rebound.

My concerns about Smith at the 3 are as much about putting him in a position to succeed defensively as about offense.

[JTB]

Very true. Smith has not shown a good ability to mark perimeter players and quick penetrators in man defense.

Also, putting him on the perimeter means that he is not guarding the basket on defense (i.e., blocking shots) and is not in a good position to rebound.

My concerns about Smith at the 3 are as much about putting him in a position to succeed defensively as about offense.

Ok you say Smith has not shown a good ability to mark perimeter players. Ok while that may be true, Smith also hasnt had a TRUE chance of playing the 3 since he's improved anyways. So Im with you on him not displaying good defense at the 3 but if LD makes Smith work on the 3 for this whole off season, Smith will no doubt learn to change his game on defense! I mean thats the whole reason why Smith probably hasnt shown good defense on the perimeter......because he hasnt really had a chance to do so or play at the 3 and really havent made it a priority in his own mindset to try to lock these guys down at the 3! Smith is one of those players that has that mindset that probably says things like this to himself: "Im locking my man down in the post so thats all im really worried about!, if we switch and they score oh well then it aint my fault I been blocking my opponents shots all night".....<<<<Cant you imagine smith saying that, I can! Thats why im glad LD said that the switching defense will stop and every man will be responsible for their man, anyways once smith changes his mindset to play the 3 and defend at the 3 than he will succeed!

[MaceCase]

JTB, you are aware that we ran a switching defense for the past 6 years right? We've seen more than enough of Smoove guarding the perimeter and he sucks. Part of it is he doesn't know what the hell a defensive stance is the second is that he lacks lateral quickness either way no to Smoove at the 3.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I think you make some valid points. People making a big deal about what forward position Josh plays is overrated. Many want to conveiniently forget that Josh came into the league playing small forward and went to the 4 out of necessity and poor draft selection (you figure it out). I think Josh's success is tied to how he plays more so than what position he plays. If he's attacking the basket or posting up, he'll be a factor. For example, go back and look at the game against Golden State this season in Phillips arena. He was matched up with Corey Maggette for most of that night and basically gave him the business.

But that's only because Maggette was playing the 4 when he came into that game and had to be matched up against Smith. And Maggette had 18 points and 7 rebounds . .in 22 minutes. So isn't that an indictment on Smith's abilities to defend a 3?

[Johnnybravo4]

I don't think Smoove is a bad perimeter player, it is just that he prefers to let them pass in order to get a block on the back end. He wins some and he loses some. In an era where you can't hand check and blocking fouls are called every 10 seconds, it might not be a bad strategy. The key is that you need a defensive minded center. If we had Alabi I wouldn't mind having Smoove at the SF. Imagine the Brick wall of Smoove, Horford and Alabi! In fact

Teague

JJ

Smoove

Horford

Alabi

That is Laker-esque in terms of size. Bring Marvin off of the bench and trade Childress' rights for a late first, then draft Poindexter.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

It's not about the offense with smith at the 3! it's about his defense! If Smith can defend on the perimeter which I highly beilieve he can do than smith can play the 3. As for offense again LD is creating a new offense that involves his players to be in the best position to score as far as their abilities so in other words LD will place Smith towards the post area in this new motion offense he will bring to the NBA where Smith will have a better chance at scoring. So Smith doesnt need to learn how to necessary shoot cause the offense is placing him in position based off his skills.

That's the point. He CAN'T guard quick perimeter 3's. He could still be a helpside defender. But if Smith was one of our best perimeter defenders, don't you think he'd be matched up against the other team's star SF on a nightly basis? No, that job usually goes to Marvin, with JJ ending up on him.

Putting Smith at the 3 takes him away from rebounding the basketball at a high rate. You would essentially turn that guy into the bad version of Andrei Kirilenko if we moved him to the 3.

[BusBoyIsBack]

This is a joke. Putting Smith at the 3 highlights his strengths and masks his weaknesses. Josh Smith is at his best when he's AROUND THE BASKET on both sides of the ball. It allows him to score on the inside as well as rebound, contest shots, etc.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I don't think Smoove is a bad perimeter player, it is just that he prefers to let them pass in order to get a block on the back end. He wins some and he loses some. In an era where you can't hand check and blocking fouls are called every 10 seconds, it might not be a bad strategy. The key is that you need a defensive minded center. If we had Alabi I wouldn't mind having Smoove at the SF. Imagine the Brick wall of Smoove, Horford and Alabi! In fact

Teague

JJ

Smoove

Horford

Alabi

That is Laker-esque in terms of size. Bring Marvin off of the bench and trade Childress' rights for a late first, then draft Poindexter.

Johnny . . that's bad perimeter defense then. Because all those SFs do, is make a quick move and pull up for a jumper once they get space, or they go all the way to the hole, forcing another defender to rotate over while Smith is trailing for a block, which sees the driving player pass to an open man.

You MIGHT get away with playing Smoove at the 3 for very short stretches. But as a starter? Heck no.

[JTB]

JTB, you are aware that we ran a switching defense for the past 6 years right? We've seen more than enough of Smoove guarding the perimeter and he sucks. Part of it is he doesn't know what the hell a defensive stance is the second is that he lacks lateral quickness either way no to Smoove at the 3.

Im very aware of that but what im saying is that many of you are still looking in the past. Ok he got switched on some 3's cause of the switching defense we played and he didnt perform well. You are probably right but here's what Im saying and this is probably true..................Smith's whole game is based off his mindset. He dont have the mindset to guard 3's! If LD can get into Smith's head like they say he can than he can make smith a defending 3 with no problem! YYou act as if Smith came into the last four training camps over the off season trying to improve his defense at the 3 and we know he hasnt been. He has been trying to become a better post defender cause thats where he has played the last 4 years! He didnt come in worried about the SF's of the league the melos,LBJ's, Durants, Rudy Gay's NO Sir! Smith came in each game worrying about the PF's of the league the Dirk's, KG's, Gasol's, David west's because thats who he was primarily suppose to defend. Smith can play the 3 with no problem, he just needs the right coach to coach him up and get into his mind that he can play this position. It's not like the spurs or the 76ers tell Blair or Brand that they cant play the PF position cause of their height! In all remember this from the greatest of all-time MJ "the game is 10% physical and 90% mental", Smith has the physical part down1, now LD just need to get into his head!

[JTB]

I don't think Smoove is a bad perimeter player, it is just that he prefers to let them pass in order to get a block on the back end. He wins some and he loses some. In an era where you can't hand check and blocking fouls are called every 10 seconds, it might not be a bad strategy. The key is that you need a defensive minded center. If we had Alabi I wouldn't mind having Smoove at the SF. Imagine the Brick wall of Smoove, Horford and Alabi! In fact

Teague

JJ

Smoove

Horford

Alabi

That is Laker-esque in terms of size. Bring Marvin off of the bench and trade Childress' rights for a late first, then draft Poindexter.

exactly and smith does that becaue thats his mindset of the game! if he changes that then he will be ok.

[tomac]

I think that some of you are reaching a bit on Smith's perimeter defense. He may not be the best on the ball defender, but I think that he defends better than the average 3 in the league. We are talking about a guy who finished 2nd for DPY this year. He could definitely play the three if he didn't have to help so much. Put a young, shot-blocking 7-footer behind him (like McGee or Alabi) and watch what happens.

[JTB]

That's the point. He CAN'T guard quick perimeter 3's. He could still be a helpside defender. But if Smith was one of our best perimeter defenders, don't you think he'd be matched up against the other team's star SF on a nightly basis? No, that job usually goes to Marvin, with JJ ending up on him.

Putting Smith at the 3 takes him away from rebounding the basketball at a high rate. You would essentially turn that guy into the bad version of Andrei Kirilenko if we moved him to the 3.

Well no! Smith was needed in the post cause we have no depth at the post position and then woody didnt play or rotate or even come up with different strategies or gameplans! Woody stuck with the same gameplan each time every game including playoffs. With that said that means smith was always going to start at PF like he did cause woody never even attempted to change things so the answer is even if smith was known to be a good perimeter defender it didnt matter when woody was coaching cause no matter what team or situation WOODY didnt change SH*T he always stuck with the same exact gameplan for the Hawks every opponent!............So you dont know what smith could become at the 3!

[MaceCase]

I think that some of you are reaching a bit on Smith's perimeter defense. He may not be the best on the ball defender, but I think that he defends better than the average 3 in the league. We are talking about a guy who finished 2nd for DPY this year. He could definitely play the three if he didn't have to help so much. Put a young, shot-blocking 7-footer behind him (like McGee or Alabi) and watch what happens.

Dwight was the two time DPOY, you think a change in his mindset and the magic (no pun) of that award now make him able to guard SFs?

[NineOhTheRino]

Well no! Smith was needed in the post cause we have no depth at the post position and then woody didnt play or rotate or even come up with different strategies or gameplans! Woody stuck with the same gameplan each time every game including playoffs. With that said that means smith was always going to start at PF like he did cause woody never even attempted to change things so the answer is even if smith was known to be a good perimeter defender it didnt matter when woody was coaching cause no matter what team or situation WOODY didnt change SH*T he always stuck with the same exact gameplan for the Hawks every opponent!............So you dont know what smith could become at the 3!

a wise man knows his limitations

[tomac]

Dwight was the two time DPOY, you think a change in his mindset and the magic (no pun) of that award now make him able to guard SFs?

Not a fair question. the nature of the hawk's switching defense often forced Josh to guard 3's, and he still finished 2nd for DPOY. Dwight was never asked to do that. We've even seen Josh do a decent job of checking Steve Nash this year. He's capable.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Not a fair question. the nature of the hawk's switching defense often forced Josh to guard 3's, and he still finished 2nd for DPOY. Dwight was never asked to do that. We've even seen Josh do a decent job of checking Steve Nash this year. He's capable.

He's capable but it's not his strength. It's incomprehensibly ridiculous to think taking a guy who is one of the best shot blockers and shot alterers in the league IN THE PAINT should play more defense ON THE PERIMETER.

The reason why Josh Smith's defense was neautralized in that Magic series was because of how perimeter oriented Rashard Lewis was. Why on earth would you want Josh Smith to be on the perimeter full-time on defense? And on offense as well?

It's absolutely ridiculous quite frankly. He had his most efficient season ever from the field offensively because he was more often than not taking shots NEAR THE BASKET and not hoisting up long jumpers. Why put him on a position of the court that will force him to take more of those long jumpers?

It's really ridiculous on both sides of the ball to suggest

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Well no! Smith was needed in the post cause we have no depth at the post position and then woody didnt play or rotate or even come up with different strategies or gameplans! Woody stuck with the same gameplan each time every game including playoffs. With that said that means smith was always going to start at PF like he did cause woody never even attempted to change things so the answer is even if smith was known to be a good perimeter defender it didnt matter when woody was coaching cause no matter what team or situation WOODY didnt change SH*T he always stuck with the same exact gameplan for the Hawks every opponent!............So you dont know what smith could become at the 3!

JTB . . . you're simply trying to put a square peg in a round hole. You've seen that guy guard people out on the perimeter. It's not a good matchup for him because of his lack of lateral quickness. Smith is a north-south runner. If he's going straight ahead, he's one of the fastest players in the league. But start moving him east-west ( from side to side ), you limit how effective the guy can be.

You play him at PF, and Smith has a chance to become an All-Star next year. You play Smith at SF, and you have to ask him to overcome some MAJOR WEAKNESSES in his game, just for him to be an average to above average SF.

People like to blame every shortcoming this team has or had on Woody, and not the player himself. 80% of Hawk fans agree that it would be a DISASTER if you put Smith at the 3.

- Smith is one of the worst outside shooters in the league.

- He hardly ever gets blocks away from the rim, even when he's rotating out to players

- He doesn't have great ball handling ability ( for a 3 ), but pretty good for a 4.

Why would you want to put that kid in that position as a 3, when you know the strengths he brings to the table as a 4?

- He's a premier shot blocker at the 4

- He can take most 4's off the dribble and get to the rim and score

- He changes a lot more shots of guards and SFs driving to the hole when playing the 4

- He's a much better rebounder at the 4.

Why take him from what he does best, just to simply play him at the 3?

A lot of you are going to be in for a rude awakening this upcoming season. With Woody gone, the truth is going to be exposed about some of these players, because fans won't have the "Woody Excuse" to use anymore.

If they become better players, give Drew his props and I'll admit that you guys were right about Woody. But if they don't get better, or regress as players, don't blame Drew for not making them better. Blame the player for simply not being able to get it done.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

He's capable but it's not his strength. It's incomprehensibly ridiculous to think taking a guy who is one of the best shot blockers and shot alterers in the league IN THE PAINT should play more defense ON THE PERIMETER.

The reason why Josh Smith's defense was neautralized in that Magic series was because of how perimeter oriented Rashard Lewis was. Why on earth would you want Josh Smith to be on the perimeter full-time on defense? And on offense as well?

It's absolutely ridiculous quite frankly. He had his most efficient season ever from the field offensively because he was more often than not taking shots NEAR THE BASKET and not hoisting up long jumpers. Why put him on a position of the court that will force him to take more of those long jumpers?

It's really ridiculous on both sides of the ball to suggest

I guess people forget this. Part of the reason Dwight killed us, is because he didn't have to worry about Smoove rotating over to challenge his shot. Smoove was way out in the corner, worrying about Lewis knocking down threes.

[tomac]

I guess people forget this. Part of the reason Dwight killed us, is because he didn't have to worry about Smoove rotating over to challenge his shot. Smoove was way out in the corner, worrying about Lewis knocking down threes.

I do understand what you guys are saying, but you have to remember that Josh's move to the 3 is contingent upon getting a shot, blocking 5. Defensively, the dynamic will change if that type of player is acquired by the Hawks.

Yes Josh is better at the basket, but there have been a number of 3's in the league who made their living in the paint.. I never once heard anyone complain about James Worthy not being able to knock down 3-pointers. He could run and slash with the best of them, and play great help defense. Sound familiar?