March 11th game at Chicago (3rd quarter) is cautionary tale

[hawks21]

Josh Smith's shot selection may the next biggest threat to the Hawks other than Derrick Rose'a ability to take over games with his relentless style of attacking the basket. Josh Smith should never be a first or second or in most cases a third option as a shooter on this team--especially against the Bulls.

It is not a coincidence that the Hawks only win against Chicago was a game in which he did not play back on March 2nd in Atlanta in which Al Horford scored 30+ points.

Coach Larry Drew has to stop accepting Josh Smith's poor shot selection because it can turn a manageable game out of control in a short period of time.The Bulls and most other teams WANT JOSH SMITH TO SHOOT OUTSIDE JUMPERS and in the third quarter of that Chicago road game is a prime example of why Coach Drew can't allow his team to be put in a position of the offense going through Josh Smith.

Josh Smith's missed shots helped to fuel a game in which the HAWKS LED AT HALFTIME, 50-48 and turned into a Derrick Rose show, a third-quarter barrage of open-court layups and conversions by the Bulls.

In the Orlando blowout loss, it was not a coincidence that Josh Smith STARTED THE GAME WITH A THREE-POINTER and went on to take the next shot. Plus, he missed a few throws. THAT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN, but Coach Larry Drew at times is slow to discipline Josh Smith and the team suffers.

Al Horford should shoot the ball before Josh Smith..Marvin Williams should shoot the ball before Josh Smith. Even Damien William should shoot the ball as an option before Josh Smith.

In this Chicago series, he should be focusing on rebounding, blocking shots and defending the paint. Not setting up and staying on the perimeter.

In Game 6 against, Josh was 3-for-14 and played a lot of minutes, but the Hawks managed to escape the Magic. However, the longer Josh smith stays on the floor and is taking MORE shots, it jeopardizes this team moreso than 'iso-Joe' or 'iso- Jamal'

Josh's bad habits in taking bas shots is too much too overcome in this series, and Coach Drew's unwillingness to discipline him could UNDERMINE that series.

That March 2nd game in Atlanta without JOSH SMITH proved the team could overcome on-court adversity and beat a good team. Coach Drew has to make the decision is he willing to discipline Josh Smith in order to win this Chicago series.

Edited April 30, 2011 by hawks21

[Supporter]

+1 all the way

[Wurider05]

Nothing but the truth!!