Wow Josh Smith really needs to learn to dribble

[capstone21]

Wow, watching him tonight ... he can't put three dribbles together.

[JJJ]

I would be fine with trading him right about now...He will never be a consistant ball player, and he doesnt even know what the heck he is doing out there.(AKA when your shot isnt falling, how about trying to drive the ball, DA?)

Let Chillz and Marvin start at the very least.

[SmooveTheFuture]

lol fair weather much?

[HAWKEYE]

He was something like 1 for 10 in shot attempts. He really needs to give the ball up when he is so off. We still needed his hustle on defense though, until he fouled out.

[JJJ]

Nope, just telling you the truth.

He will have his big game here and there, but for the most part, he will be avg to WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY below avg.(Tonight)

Chillz > Smoove

Marvin > Smoove

[HawksFan87]

Smoove is not going to be traded so you can forget that, so when Shelden or Marvin have a couple of bad games in a row, I bet you wont make a thread about it. His shots just did'nt fall . Some of you fans act like the falcons with how they treat Mike Vick. When he has a good game you love him when he has a bad game oh he should be bench or traded. Get real because neither thing is happening.

[SmooveTheFuture]

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Smoove is not going to be traded so you can forget that, so when Shelden or Marvin have 3 or 4 bad games in a row, I bet you wont make a thread about it. His shots just did'nt fall . Some of you fans act like the falcons with how they treat Mike Vick. When he has a good game you love him when he has a bad game oh he should be bench or traded. Get real because neither thing is happening.

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Exactly what do you expect from him 20 points a night hes freaking 20 soon to be 21. If he was consistent every night he would be on the all star team. It was a bad game but the Hawks were winning after he fouled so dont blame the game on him his shooting didnt help but still. With young players you cant give up on them and lose faith in them. Example look at the Celtics when they traded Joe Johnson you think if they knew what they had he wouldnt be a Celtic right now. Some of you fairweather fans are sickening if you think when Marvin comes back hes not gonna have bad games like this your nuts. Love em when they good Hate them when they struggle.

[terrynoonan]

We're all amazed with his potential, but he looks lost most times on offense. Just standing on the wing. That's not all his fault though. Woodson never calls a play for him.

The inability to dribble and the subsequent reliance on his jumper really destroy him. I wish he would forget about handling the ball. I stopped counting after he lost his dribble for the 7th time in the first half.

I don't want to totally slam him. This was Woody's night. Smoove made a few hustle plays to equalize his mistakes some and he stopped a few breaks by himself. He may be the only guy in the league who scares people like that.

He's got to learn to dribble and shoot or stop doing them so much.

A coach could help him.

[SmooveTheFuture]

Yep he needs to be coached better because the talent. Chris Paul was 0-8 2 points 2night I guess the Hornets should forgot about him. Everyone has off nights its how they bounce back is whats important. Iam just as frustrated as anyone with these 2 heartbreaking losses. But we win as a team and lose as a team. There shouldnt be scapegoats or finger pointing only in regards to the coaching.

[Buzzard]

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His shots just did'nt fall

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He is a career 438 shooter. Smoove needs more than just coaching. He needs to learn how to dribble and drive. Quit making lame excuses for his horrible shooting, bad judgement, and poor work habits (he has to practice dribbling in order to get better at it).

We all want to see our players succeed. But at this point in his career, Smoove has about as much a chance of replacing Nique as I do...

[Plastic Man]

if we traded him (which we won't) he would be tearin up the league and be a superstar before we even make the playoffs. just because his handle is shaky doesn't mean he's trade bait. he's an athletic freak who can change the game on both ends.

where was this thread after the raptors game last week? last night he took a few bad shots, but most of them weren't forced. he still seems to struggle with confidence. after missing a few shots or making a turnover he hesitates and overthinks. we need to utilize his hops and get him some easy baskets to get him goin when he's strugglin. hang in there--young talented team = rollercoaster season.

[Buzzard]

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He is a career 438 shooter. Smoove needs more than just coaching. He needs to learn how to dribble and drive. Quit making lame excuses for his horrible shooting, bad judgement, and poor work habits (he has to practice dribbling in order to get better at it).

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What part of the above statement does not ring true. This is not about hating. Just as MWill needs to be more agressive, Smoove needs to learn how to handle the ball better and use better judgement when hanging out at the 3pt line all game long...

I do not hate either; neither are anywhere close to being the answer we all expect them to be. Just being honest. You cannot handle it; oh well. Since you like to call honesty "hate", how about this for some hate.... right now Chillz has the best overall game of all our draft picks and he should be starting.

[mrhonline]

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I would be fine with trading him right about now

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That would be a tremendous mistake. Smith's potential is more than enough to keep him on the roster. But what the Hawks do need is to have Marvin Williams back, who brings more to the table than just shotblocking and inconsistent shooting.

People want Smith to become an All-Star, but we tend to forget that he was only a mid-first round pick. There are definite flaws in his game, and I think he's much better suited as a 3/4 coming off the bench. His athleticism and energy would be very useful in that role IMO.

Until Marvin returns, I would start Childress at the 3, and Shelden at the 4. If either player is in foul trouble or not playing well, bring Smith in immediately.

[Plastic Man]

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What part of the above statement does not ring true.

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smoove CAN dribble, drive and shoot. i'm thinkin he shows up big in practice; he just struggles in some games. why else would woody allow him to even touch the rock on the perimeter?

i agree chillz earned a starting spot, but starting means nothing. he plays starters minutes anyway.

[TheDude]

beleive it or not, i think he's actually gotten better at ball control albeit not where it needs to be.

[vext]

His shot wasn't falling, but that happens. It's not the end of the world. You know what coaches tell you to do when your shot isn't falling? Keep shooting. That's the only way to get out of a shooting funk. Now, I am fine with Smith hoisting a 3 every once in awhile, but definitely not as frequently as he has been in the recent past. Last night he looked like he didn't settle for nearly as many 3s as he has been. He actually drove the to the basket several times which was nice. Granted he didn't finish on most of those baskets, but that will change. What is important is that he hustled. He missed shots close to the rim and kept fighting for the board and attempting put backs. It didn't work most of the time last night, but if he keeps it up he is going to get us a ton of points in the future off of that hustle.

As for the dribbling, you're right, he can't dribble for [censored]. Hopefully that is something he will work on. He lost his dribble way too many times when the smallest amount of pressure was put on him. He made the right decision driving to the basket and once he gets used to doing so it will pay off. But he has to work on his handles. Dribbling is something easy to get better at. It just takes time and practice. He should be doing miscellaneous dribbling drills at least an hour a day every day. He should also make those drills part of his pre-game warmup. This would do wonders for his game.

Oh, and no, we aren't trading Smoove.

[Popeye]

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His shot wasn't falling

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and you know why?? cause he can't shoot that's why.

He only had 1 or 2 good shooting games so far into the season. Last year he had 43fg% and he is a career 28% from the 3pt.

So i am not saying we should trade him, but he has to take the ball to the rim, or if he is not comfortable with his dribbling than he can just stand below rim and hope to get a putback or easy layup. That way he will be waaay more efficent than he is now, and he is hurting our team now on both ends. He should watch Chill how to move without the ball and not just stand on a fuking three point line.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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I would be fine with trading him right about now...He will never be a consistant ball player, and he doesnt even know what the heck he is doing out there.

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IM glad the Celtics thought like that when they got rid of your boy Joe Johnson.

To say what a 20 year old player will never amount to is beyond stupid.

Josh Smith has more potential than any player on this team and we're just going to trade that away because he had a bad game or two?

Good thing the GM of this team doesn't have that p*ss poor logic.

[AHF]

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I would be fine with trading him right about now...He will never be a consistant ball player, and he doesnt even know what the heck he is doing out there.

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IM glad the Celtics thought like that when they got rid of your boy Joe Johnson.

To say what a 20 year old player will never amount to is beyond stupid.

Josh Smith has more potential than any player on this team and we're just going to trade that away because he had a bad game or two?

Good thing the GM of this team doesn't have that p*ss poor logic.

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Seconded. Losing Josh Smith would be terrible for this team.

[Yeti]

I do wonder if we ought to have a good college coach just to teach fundamentals to these young kids who jumped from high school to the NBA. (Or is that Bender's job.) They wow everyone with their athletic ability in HS and that ain't enough in the pro's. So they have some catching up to do.

Smoove is working hard to improve. Give him time. He'd be what a Junior in college now? How many Juniors are as good as he is?