Smith in January

[thecampster]

If you watched the game last night you could see it was bothering him. they panned to him several times after missed foul shots and it didn't take a lip reader to see he was cussing constantly.

It's called the yips...every player gets the yips. It gets in your head and you make minor corrections major. He'll hit a streak of 4 or 5 in a row when he isn't thinking about and he'll return to form. He's never been good at it but will be back to 70% plus at some point.

[Duff_Man]

If you watched the game last night you could see it was bothering him. they panned to him several times after missed foul shots and it didn't take a lip reader to see he was cussing constantly.

I had to miss the game last night, unfortunately. Like I said, I just hope he is putting in the work. Eventually you can't get by on talent alone. I'd like to see 70% at the least.

[exodus]

I had to miss the game last night, unfortunately. Like I said, I just hope he is putting in the work. Eventually you can't get by on talent alone. I'd like to see 70% at the least.

When has Smith ever shown a reluctance to work on his game?

He had no post up game at all a few seasons ago. He spent a summer in Houston working with Hakeem on his post game. Last night he was abusing Minny on post ups, finishing 8-13 from the field. He hit 4 or 5 jump hooks.

[Duff_Man]

When has Smith ever shown a reluctance to work on his game?

He had no post up game at all a few seasons ago. He spent a summer in Houston working with Hakeem on his post game. Last night he was abusing Minny on post ups, finishing 8-13 from the field. He hit 4 or 5 jump hooks.

Don't look too far into it. I said I hope he is working on his FTs. That's what I meant.

Or was I just next on your list to go after on here? If so, carry on.

[exodus]

Don't look too far into it. I said I hope he is working on his FTs. That's what I meant.

Or was I just next on your list to go after on here? If so, carry on.

This comment is clearly talking about more than just free throws.

Eventually you can't get by on talent alone.

Especially considering this comment not long ago.

Josh got paid and is now playing at a lower level. Who didn't see that coming?...

click

[Duff_Man]

This comment is clearly talking about more than just free throws.

Especially considering this comment not long ago.

click

I was talking about his shooting. Particularly FT shooting. Has nothing to do with my prior posts. Like I said, don't look too far into it. I want him to shoot FTs better because it is a killer.

Edited February 5, 2009 by Duff_Man

[exodus]

I was talking about his shooting. Particularly FT shooting. Has nothing to do with my prior posts. Like I said, don't look too far into it. I want him to shoot FTs better because it is a killer.

OK. I find it hard to follow when you talk about "getting by on talent alone" at the FT line but, whatever.

[Duff_Man]

OK. I find it hard to follow when you talk about "getting by on talent alone" at the FT line but, whatever.

Because I have played with good players who have had success at the FT line for a while with no real practice or training at it. Then they one day just stop hitting them. They get flustered and it affects them because drawing fouls no longer pays off. Then they assume it will correct itself, but they never tried to practice to get in rhythms.

I BEGGED my one teammate to come and just shoot 100 a day with me, and he always shrugged me off. Considering I once won a local FT contest, it was infuriating.

That's what I meant. I hope he's working harder on it and not just hoping it will get better.

[Lrenfro]

50.6% from the line is absolutely horrible. For any player. I haven't shot one in 5 years and I could hit 7/10.

I am sure you know this is not a fair statement right? I mean if I go out on the court right now and make 10 for 10 would that make me better than all of the NBA players? Lets give the man credit for something. He runs the floor, Hard. He gets beat up in the lane ( they are not fouling him on Jump shots). He is probably tired buy the time he gets to the line. Outside of him taking his 20 sec I am sure it is pretty hard to calm down and focus at the line. Probably in practice he can hit "7/10" Bit translates in a game a little different.

[BusBoyIsBack]

The thing is Smoove has done this before. If you check the past couple of years. He's had a month where he's averaged 20 PPG and had good numbers across the board.

Im just waiting for Smoove to do this over the span of a few months.

At least he's off to a good start in February

[exodus]

The thing is Smoove has done this before. If you check the past couple of years. He's had a month where he's averaged 20 PPG and had good numbers across the board.

Im just waiting for Smoove to do this over the span of a few months.

At least he's off to a good start in February

Smith is shooting 49.5% from the field on the season. he has never been close to that in previous seasons.

[khaos7]

It's called the yips...every player gets the yips. It gets in your head and you make minor corrections major. He'll hit a streak of 4 or 5 in a row when he isn't thinking about and he'll return to form. He's never been good at it but will be back to 70% plus at some point.

I remember Sekou had a blog very recently saying Josh worked with Mark Price before and after a practice on his FT's. See the link below:

[email=http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/hawks/entries/2009/01/29/numbers_game.html]AJC...Sekou 1/29

I'm not a Josh apologist. However, I really believe dude is frustrated by what's going on with his FT's. He's never been Reggie Miller at the line. However, he was reliable. I think he's in a funk. Granted, it hurts towards the end of games. That said, I think based off Sekou's blog from last week, he's just as frustrated (if not more) than we are. As long as this thing doesn't escalate into a Chuck Knoblauch throw to first issue, he'll be okay.

[AtLaS]

It's just mental. You don't just forget how to shoot free throws, but you can definitely go into a funk and not get them to drop.

There is no way he isn't practicing them. Free throws are a huge part of EVERY teams practice EVERY day. He knows this is a problem and I'm sure he'll eventually get it fixed.

It is frustrating as hell though.

Edited February 5, 2009 by AtLaS

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Smith is shooting 49.5% from the field on the season. he has never been close to that in previous seasons.

Looks like Smith is starting to get it. He was shooting like 43% early in the season so to be able to raise it to a respectable percentage means lots of good nights.