Josh Smith is killing us

[exodus]

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When Smith has be terrible, the response is other players look bad also.

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You got it backwards. Try and find one thread calling out Zaza for a bad game.

Smith has gotten plenty of criticism for taking to many jumpers, not boxing out, inconsistent effort, etc.

Zaza has been treated with kid gloves compared to Smith.

[Popeye]

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Prime Hawks Villians tonight:

1. JSmoove

2. Zaza

3.

Salim (for missing and not stepping up

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4. Freje (same)

5. Woody

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You kidding right??

[exodus]

Salim was 3-6 with no turnovers. I don't see how anyone can fault him in this game.

[exodus]

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This is always the response when Josh is bad.

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YOu obviously didn't read the game threads.

[SmooveTheFuture]

Theres no doubt Smith has disappointed up to this point. But I believe in his skills and that he will turn it around. Alot of people know Josh Smith has alot of talent and expected a breakout year from him. Slam Magazine had a top 50 best players in the player and I believe Smith was 48th on that list. Also Hollinger from ESPN.Com also had Smith on his top 5 Breakout players of the year. He's not showing much on the offense end but I really hope he can turn around. We are not the only ones who have expected alot from this guy. He shows great talent at times and bad at times but hopefully in the end he will become the player alot of people feel he can be. If Smith was hitting his jumpers maybe closer to 45% he would be the talk of the town and the Hawks would have a much better record. The bottom line is hes not getting the job done and costing us some games. So I feel the critism is deserving but its up to him turn this thing around.

[DJlaysitup]

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Prime Hawks Villians tonight:

1. JSmoove

2. Zaza

3.

Salim (for missing and not stepping up

)

4. Freje (same)

5. Woody

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You kidding right??

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not really - although I would agree that he maybe shouldn't be on the list - just that after he hit that early three I thought this might be a breakout game for him where he hit like 8 for 12 and won it for us - I guess my expectations (and hopes) were too high.

[DJlaysitup]

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...Zaza has been treated with kid gloves compared to Smith.

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Zaza - "the bargain contract" - Pachulia.

It ain't a bargain if the goods aren't up to par.

Zaza is a journeyman backup center - whether you pay him ten bucks a game or 100 mil. He is what he is - and not worth a cr@p on defense.

Don't get me wrong - he tries and gets rebounds and a few points - but he just isn't what we need right now at starting center.

[Guest]

that I remember some time ago that Smoove said he tries to pattern his game like Kirilenko, i.e. filling up the stat sheet. That is great if that is what he is really trying to do, but he doesn't realize the big difference between him and Kirilenko. Shot selection, Kirilenko hardly ever forces shots, he just lets the offense flow and will usually end up with 10 shots in a game. Smoove forces things, shoots a bit more and shoots at a lower percentage.

Hopefully Smoove is just in a slump and hopefully he will realize that he can't just shoot his way out of it because he is hurting the team. We desperately need Chill and Marvin back so they can take shots away from Smoove.

[vdunkndunk]

I think Josh Smith's fortunes are tied to Kirilenko's. Last year they were both pretty good for the second half of the season and put almost identical stats.

This year they're both playing miserably.

I also think the Hawks downfall came when Woody shaved his beard.

[GST]

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He shot better last year, especially in the 2nd half of the season. He was money, i am not sure what's wong now. It's not only his shooting, yes he did get a good rebound on that possesion but he played bad on defense as well and had 5 TO.

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At the end of last season, Josh was shooting an average % on open 3s. There were 2 keys: the shots were wide open, and there wasn't enough time at the end of the season for opposing teams to scout the Hawks, and place more defensive emphasis on Josh. I could see by how wide open those shots were last season, that Josh was not going to be able to count on that continuing. It really takes a great player to shoulder the offensive burden when the rest of the league is expecting it. Josh is not there, yet.

[HAWKSFAN]

You're all Josh Smith bashers, lol

[Sothron]

I like Josh but he really does need to work on his shot selection. It also seems, and this is just a feeling, that in some of these games we're seeing a really great effort from him in terms of hustle and energy and other nights where its not even close to the same level.

[ecc423]

must be outcasts from the falcons board (talk about bashing...geeze)

[SmooveTheFuture]

Heres some Fantasy Josh Smith News I know its fantasy but its pretty interesting too.

Josh Smith, Guard-Forward, Atl

11/28/2006 6:59:04 PM What happened: J-Smoove had another head-scratching game Tuesday night against the Wiz. Much like the kid in school who's good at a lot of things, but not great at anything, he laid out the following digits: Nine points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

What it means: He oozes multicategoricalicity. He fills up your fantasy stat sheet with juicy numbers . He's startable in almost any league . Still, this kid has the goods and he's not delivering . I'm waiting for some major triple-double action, something along the lines of 25 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocks. That could be a J-Smoove line on a regular basis - someday.

[Diesel]

Whenever Josh Smith or Salim Jacks up another three.

I wait patiently for JChillz to return!!

[gsuteke]

Josh Smith could be a scoring machine if he would just take it to the hole.

his gift is athleticism. why not take it to the rack and dunk on some people? case in point, anybody remember Smoove getting his shot blocked last night as he went up for a layup midway through the 4th quarter? he should have posterized that guy. at the very least he would have drawn a foul.

i applaud Josh for working on his shooting. however he needs to stop settling for all these jump shot. that's a Woody problem. if Smoove starts jacking up jumpshots as opposed to driving all he has to do is pull him. do it a few times and problem solved.

secondly it sounded to me via broadband that Pachulia is not taking his time under the basket. on one play he had 3 offensive boards (his own shot) before finally making a putback. take your damn time under the basket. take 1/2 a second to set your feet and go back up strong. Pachulia often looks like he had ADD under the basket. once again a coaching issue. work with the kid and straighten it out.

lastly how come your best defenders, Speedy and Shelden are on the bench for the entire 4th quarter? I understand Lue was hitting some shots but if you can play Salim and Lue together in the 2nd you can play Joe, Speedy, and Lue together in the 4th against a guard oriented Wizards team. Joe could have guarded Jamison as he seemed content to shoot outside jumpers himself all night.

i think this team has good players that could be used a little better at times. getting some players back from injury will definately help alot.

tonight's game against Charlotte is a must win at this point in the season if for nothing else a confidence boost for the players.

[thesheedera]

He doesn't move without the ball, he doesn't set screens, he doesn't make cuts to the hole. The kid can't dribble and his jumpers aren't hitting. If he makes cuts and sets screens, he will end up with open lanes to the basket.

He is settling for perimeter jump shots and he's indifferent on the floor unless he sees a pass coming his way or a block opportunity.

All of this can come with youth and a lack of confidence. But two things need to happen. 1) Woody needs to keep him accountable and show him that when he's off and when he's not playing with effort, he's not getting 40 freaking MINUTES!!! 2) He needs to make himself accountable and work through the funk.

He still has just as much potential as he did at the beginning of the season, but he's got to get his head in check and start looking for ways he can help this squad win games without hurting the team.

[gutz]

All I have to say is PLAY SHELDEN (THE LANDLORD) WILLIAMS more in the games damn it. Last night was a total blunder on Woodson's part in the 4th qtr. HOW in the hell do you leave Zaza and Smoove in the game the whole 4th qtr. after they were turning it over left and right every possession when Shelden only had 4 fouls. He was playing great in the 1st half and doesn't make many if any mistakes at all like these two bumbling clowns. Shelden is looking great and needs to start at PF when Marvin comes back. Woody has to put Smoove on the bench when Marvin returns. Shelden has earned that starter spot at the 4 no doubt.

[Peoriabird]

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Shelden is looking great and needs to start at PF when Marvin comes back. Woody has to put Smoove on the bench when Marvin returns. Shelden has earned that starter spot at the 4 no doubt.

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I remember saying this in pre-season and everyone jumped down my throat. The is not a Woodsen problem, this is a Josh Smith problem. Josh Smith doesn't have the skills to play on the perimeter period.

[exodus]

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All I have to say is PLAY SHELDEN (THE LANDLORD) WILLIAMS more in the games damn it.

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I have been thinking this for awhile. I understand he is a rookie but he is a 4 year college player who is playing well and we are short handed.

This is getting ridiculous.