Dear Josh Smith

[bronnt]

While Al didn't play well, he certainly we victimized by some terrible foul calls and didn't even get to see the floor much. I would bet that Zaza starts to get a lot more minutes if Al continues to struggle on defense against that bum ONeal

Personally, I think Al was neutralized by Woodson. He came out and got a quick putback dunk, then a BS foul call guarding JO gave him two fouls. He then sat until 6:09 in the second quarter, and with all the fouling and game stoppages, he must have been sitting on the bench for at least 30 minutes real time-probably a bit more.

End result, when he got back into the game he was ice cold, and I don't think he ever got completely loose again. It's tough to get warm, then have to sit for a long time before you've had a chance to break a sweat.

[Atlantaholic]

Other than JJ, Horf has been the biggest disappointment since game 1.

[TroyMcClure]

LOL you are so full of it. Without Josh's play in the first 18 minutes we lose this game. Got to agree the 3 pointers didn't look good but please get some credibility. 4 blocked shots for the game. His hustle in the first 18 minutes led the Hawks to their lead.

Hawks plus/minus for the game organized by first to last.

Zaza Pachulia (+20)....huge ups for Zaza.

Josh Smith (+20).....

Mo Evans (+16)....

Mike Bibby (+11)... huge turnaround from the first 3 games

Joe Johnson (+11)

Flip Murray....(+5)

Al Horford...(-8)...This is where your venom should be getting spewed.

Mario West...(-10) This was in only 5 minutes

Solomon Jones...(-15) This was in only 3 minutes.

I agree. Not that teke is full of it, but the rest of it. People need a reality check. The Hawks aren't going to win a title this year, or next. As long as Woody is here, it ain't happening. Not even a solid run, much less a title. This brings me to Josh. Should he stop trying and displaying a passion for the game that no one else on the Hawks seems to have? No. If he doesn't ever shoot another 3, are we going to compete for a title? No. So what's the point? That he isn't executing Woody's master plan? Seriously. I did see him hit a long j from the corner, too. Honestly, the criticism for Josh is just really silly and ill-conceived. I've got a feeling everyone will be glad he took all of these shots in these years if we ever get a real coach and GM down the road.

[ersimo2889]

Smith was 4-14 from the field. Almost all of his misses were jumpers. He keeps jacking them up even though everyone knows he can't make them.

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but:

82Games - Josh Smith

47% of his field goal attempts are jumpshots, and 53% are inside.

His eFG% from inside is 65%. His eFG% on jumpshots? 35%

[JackB1]

His FG% on jumpshots? 35%

Josh shouldn't be shooting jumpers........period....let alone 3's.

Why does the whole world see this EXCEPT JOSH HIMSELF???

He should do what Al does. Take the 18 footer now and then

when it's open, but the majority of your shots should be leass than

15 feet away. If he ever figures this out, he will lead the league

in FG%.

[AHF]

I agree. Not that teke is full of it, but the rest of it. People need a reality check. The Hawks aren't going to win a title this year, or next. As long as Woody is here, it ain't happening. Not even a solid run, much less a title. This brings me to Josh. Should he stop trying and displaying a passion for the game that no one else on the Hawks seems to have? No. If he doesn't ever shoot another 3, are we going to compete for a title? No. So what's the point? That he isn't executing Woody's master plan? Seriously. I did see him hit a long j from the corner, too. Honestly, the criticism for Josh is just really silly and ill-conceived. I've got a feeling everyone will be glad he took all of these shots in these years if we ever get a real coach and GM down the road.

I would be equally upset if Horford and Zaza were chucking 3pters at the rate Josh Smith does. I agree it is not the difference between winning a championship or not, but that isn't a useful criteria, IMO. It is low hanging fruit in terms of coaching and player development.

If you were rooting for quarterback prospects running a 40 yard dash and saw that Stafford had a 5 pound weight chained to his back, you would scream for him to remove it. Now removing it wouldn't allow him to beat Pat White but it would be a very easy, very obvious first step to improving performance. JS's 3pt shooting is low hanging fruit and an indictment of Woodson's offensive system (or lack thereof), IMO.

It doesn't mean I stop cheering for Josh or want to get rid of him. I just want to see him enjoy more success by improving his basketball IQ.

[TroyMcClure]

I would be equally upset if Horford and Zaza were chucking 3pters at the rate Josh Smith does. I agree it is not the difference between winning a championship or not, but that isn't a useful criteria, IMO. It is low hanging fruit in terms of coaching and player development.

If you were rooting for quarterback prospects running a 40 yard dash and saw that Stafford had a 5 pound weight chained to his back, you would scream for him to remove it. Now removing it wouldn't allow him to beat Pat White but it would be a very easy, very obvious first step to improving performance. JS's 3pt shooting is low hanging fruit and an indictment of Woodson's offensive system (or lack thereof), IMO.

It doesn't mean I stop cheering for Josh or want to get rid of him. I just want to see him enjoy more success by improving his basketball IQ.

I'm just saying that his shooting, which will improve, I believe firmly, is waaaay down on the complaint list. Far behind Joe's inability to "lead" and Woody's coaching, among other things. And i think his I.Q. is right on course. Personally, I'm impressed with his ability to deal with Woodson for this long. He's been a whipping boy and it is totally ridiculous. We are lucky he hasn't demanded a trade with the Way Woodson has acted. I'll take the 3's. It's better than watching Joe dribble.

[AHF]

I'm just saying that his shooting, which will improve, I believe firmly, is waaaay down on the complaint list. Far behind Joe's inability to "lead" and Woody's coaching, among other things. And i think his I.Q. is right on course. Personally, I'm impressed with his ability to deal with Woodson for this long. He's been a whipping boy and it is totally ridiculous. We are lucky he hasn't demanded a trade with the Way Woodson has acted. I'll take the 3's. It's better than watching Joe dribble.

Number 1 on the list for me is the total failure of our coaching staff to institute a real offensive system. It puts too much pressure on Joe to pound the ball and score point on his own (which is fine when he is dominating but is terrible when he is slumping); puts Josh Smith out of positions where he can be successful; fails to utilize the passing skills of our PFs; fails to utilize a great pick & roll PG in Bibby; underutilizes players like Marvin; etc.

Our offensive system is a disaster and has been for years and the fact that Josh spends time outside the 3pt arc on offense is just painful to see. So I agree that our system as a whole is a MUCH bigger issue than Josh's 3pt shooting but I do think that this is very low hanging fruit for Josh and that it is an area where he can quickly improve.

As an aside, I don't hold out much hope that Josh will ever be someone who is better shooting 3's than he is taking the ball towards the basket.

[mrhonline]

Other than JJ, Horf has been the biggest disappointment since game 1.

No, that would be Flip Murray, Josh Smith, and perhaps even Marvin Williams.

Horford has had one mediocre game where he was in foul trouble, but he's been a consistent, solid contributor. His problem is the same as Marvin's - he's not flashy.

[exodus]

No, that would be Flip Murray, Josh Smith, and perhaps even Marvin Williams.

Horford has had one mediocre game where he was in foul trouble, but he's been a consistent, solid contributor. His problem is the same as Marvin's - he's not flashy.

Horford has been getting clowned by a washed up JO. On offense he refuses to try to drive but instead tries to back down and shoot over a taller player.

People talk about Smith's lack of BBall IQ but Horford's isn't much better. He doesn't show a lick of sense on offense. He can be standing 18 feet from the basket with a live dribble and he won't look to score even if his man is 5 feet off him.

[crimedog]

No, that would be Flip Murray, Josh Smith, and perhaps even Marvin Williams.

Horford has had one mediocre game where he was in foul trouble, but he's been a consistent, solid contributor. His problem is the same as Marvin's - he's not flashy.

Except that he's let a guy who was supposed to be washed up and a lesser player dominate him. He's shown a complete inability to create his own offense. He's shown a knack for disappearing in times of need.

I don't mean to denegrate Al as I actually like him as a center on our team. Its just annoying to see someone who often uses such rational reasoning making unsubstantiated statements about the guy who has been our best player this series being such a disappointment and blindly defending a guy who has been average at best.

Edited April 28, 2009 by crimedog

[JackB1]

People talk about Smith's lack of BBall IQ but Horford's isn't much better. He doesn't show a lick of sense on offense. He can be standing 18 feet from the basket with a live dribble and he won't look to score even if his man is 5 feet off him.

That's because Horford knows his limitations. Thats why his overall FG% is around 50%.

Now Smith on the otherhand.........

Comparing Horford's basketball IQ to Josh's is like comparing Woodson to Pat Riley.

[HawksFan87]

Smoove a dissapoint?? please you guys are silly... Smoove has played pretty well so far.. Al is the one who has sucked.. Stop making excuses for him. He will NEVER be more than what he is on offense right now.. And he's getting clowned by JO who's not that great . IF anyone has sucked this series it's Joe. but of course everyone has excuses for him as well..

Edited April 28, 2009 by jsmoovefan

[exodus]

That's because Horford knows his limitations. Thats why his overall FG% is around 50%.

Now Smith on the otherhand.........

Comparing Horford's basketball IQ to Josh's is like comparing Woodson to Pat Riley.

If Horford knew his limitations he wouldn't be constantly trying to back down and shoot over bigger, taller players.

The reason his fg percentage is high is the same reason Childress' fg percentage was high. He doesn't score much and a large percentage of his attempts are easy shots set up by someone else.

[crimedog]

Smoove a dissapoint?? please you guys are silly... Smoove has played pretty well so far.. Al is the one who has sucked.. Stop making excuses for him. He will NEVER be more than what he is on offense right now.. And he's getting clowned by JO who's not that great . IF anyone has sucked this series it's Joe. but of course everyone has excuses for him as well..

I don't agree with this. I just think its ridiculous to continually call Smith out even though he's been the most productive player this series. He's our leading scorer, he's getting just under 9 boards a game, and his D has been great. His FG% is down from the 49% it was earlier but his FT% is up and he's scoring more which is the opposite of Al and Joe who are both scoring less and doing it less efficiently (they all have had about the same drop in FG% actually).

[HalfHawk]

Please Josh!

Put up more long jumpers, drive the ball less, make more stupid turnovers, complain even more about calls you don't agree with, and please play less aggressively!

You know the pleading isn't working, so I'm just trying to go with another path, reverse physiology! I heard it works on really stubborn people...

Let's see the results on Wednesday. If he has the most annoying, and worst performance of his career.... my bad.

[Kimsey]

I mean if the Hawks had a performance like Denver vs. N.O. there would still be some clowns that would complain about something. Beggars can't be choosers. This team has just won it's first away playoff game in a dozen years.

Haslem and Beasley combined game 4:

mins. 48

pts. 6

fga. 2-11

Wonder why they don't mention this.

[DJlaysitup]

Please Josh!

Put up more long jumpers, drive the ball less, make more stupid turnovers, complain even more about calls you don't agree with, and please play less aggressively!

You know the pleading isn't working, so I'm just trying to go with another path, reverse physiology! I heard it works on really stubborn people...

Let's see the results on Wednesday. If he has the most annoying, and worst performance of his career.... my bad.

I understand your frustration and I totally agree that we can still blow this series. We lose tomorrow night and we won't likely see a cold MIA team for game 6 at home - they will be pumped. I dis-agree somewhat about the hatred of JS's threes - sure most of them don't go in but Wade had three airballs in the first quarter last night. They were within 4 at halftime and within 5 in the 4th.

JS is a true defensive stopper. Give him a perimeter shot now and then. Flip normally misses and Acie can't hit the side of a barn from the inside.

JS does hit the occasional clutch three.

Edited April 29, 2009 by DJlaysitup

[gsuteke]

Who here thinks Josh Smith should be shooting 3 pointers?

Raise your hands.

[Admin]

Josh's numbers don't mean anything in relation to the point of this thread. The point is that no matter what his numbers are they are significantly better when he's not shooting long jumpers. Can ANYONE here disagree with that statement?

He also plays a much better brand of basketball when he's not complaining about calls. He's the one player on the team who is capable of pumping us up or deflating us and when he's complaining like he was the last few games it's incredibly deflating. Again, can anyone disagree with this?

Josh Smith deserves to be called out for his mental mistakes just as much as everyone else on the team but for me I expect more out of Josh since he's undoubtedly the most important player for us in the grand scheme of things. And once again, can anyone disagree?