Josh Smith vs Joe Johnson for team MVP this season

[thecampster]

Josh wins stats:

Rebounds - +186

Steals - +19

Blocks - +104

Shots Taken - (-342)

Joe wins stats:

Assists - +37

Points - +332

Turnovers - (-5)

Joe outscored Josh by 332 but took 342 more shots to do it and got to the FT line 89 less times.

Is Joe more valuable than Josh?

[HawksFan87]

Joe is our best player, but Josh is our MVP. We don't have anyone on our team that can replace what he brings, I think Craw could replace Joe, honestly..

[DjGrizz]

Joe is our best player, but Josh is our MVP. We don't have anyone on our team that can replace what he brings, I think Craw could replace Joe, honestly..

Offensively, yes. Defensively, no.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

We don't win 3 of those Boston games without JJ

We don't beat Portland twice without JJ

We don't beat Dallas in Dallas without JJ

We squandered huge games by JJ vs Chicago, OK City, San Antonio, Cleveland, and the Lakers ( games in which Smoove didn't play near how he should play )

Josh Smith is the complimentary player that makes this team a cohesive unit, a great one at times. But there is no question that Joe Johnson is the MVP of this team. When push comes to shove, Joe Johnson is the one that is going to be asked to score the tough points down the stretch AND guard the best perimeter player on the other team to keep him from scoring.

[spotatl]

the Hawks are a mediocre defensive team- the reason for the Hawks record is that they have been so good on offense. Without Joe the offense would be a disaster I think. I think that Joe is more important to the team.

[HawksFan87]

Offensively, yes. Defensively, no.

Joe is not a great defensive player either...

Woody stated recently that Smoove is our mvp, and Michael Gearon and Rick Sund stated he was the heart and soul of our team. So that settles it for me.

Edited February 9, 2010 by jsmoovefan

[spotatl]

Joe often is asked to guard the oppositions best guard because bibby and Crawford are absolute disasters defensively. Without Joe the defense would take a massive hit.

[niremetal]

Joe is not a great defensive player either...

Woody stated recently that Smoove is our mvp, and Michael Gearon and Rick Sund stated he was the heart and soul of our team. So that settles it for me.

And the fact that coaches have picked JJ to the All-Star team 3 straight years and not Josh doesn't settle anything?

That being said, it's a toss-up. And you can't leave Horford out of the discussion either.

Edited February 9, 2010 by niremetal

[Rome26]

Joe is not a great defensive player either...

Woody stated recently that Smoove is our mvp, and Michael Gearon and Rick Sund stated he was the heart and soul of our team. So that settles it for me.

Do you know anything about basketball? JJ may not be a GREAT defender but he is a good defender. It's his size(6-7 240) that allows the hawks to switch on defense. Craw can't hold players his own size and it would be a complete mismatch on swithches. Him and Bibby would be a disaster defensively.

[DjGrizz]

Joe is not a great defensive player either...

Woody stated recently that Smoove is our mvp, and Michael Gearon and Rick Sund stated he was the heart and soul of our team. So that settles it for me.

Joe is a good defender. Crawford is absolutely atrocious defensively.

[Wretch]

JJ is without a doubt the centerpiece of our team. He brings a reliable 20+ ppg and he brings clutch shots. Having said that though, I've seen good teams do more with less. Offense is important, but I don't feel like it's the bottom line. Josh brings something immeasurable to the table that frankly...I'm scared to see what it's like without it. Both of these guys are equally important to our success IMO. It's a tough call for me, but if I have to pick an MVP this year, I'm going with Smoove. We need his energy, his defense, rebounding...and we really need him to refine his offensive game (though he does finally "get it")

[Crank]

Joe is a good defender. Crawford is absolutely atrocious defensively.

and Id say you are still pushing a rep from his old teams because he has been anything but atrocious defensively for us . He has steadily improved from the moment he arrived .

With that said we have no MVP . Everyone of our top 4 brings something to the table that completes the unit and is hard to replace .

[Diesel]

JJ is without a doubt the centerpiece of our team. He brings a reliable 20+ ppg and he brings clutch shots. Having said that though, I've seen good teams do more with less. Offense is important, but I don't feel like it's the bottom line. Josh brings something immeasurable to the table that frankly...I'm scared to see what it's like without it. Both of these guys are equally important to our success IMO. It's a tough call for me, but if I have to pick an MVP this year, I'm going with Smoove. We need his energy, his defense, rebounding...and we really need him to refine his offensive game (though he does finally "get it")

I think Joe still trumps Josh.

Here's why.

So many of our players offensive production rely heavily on the presence of Joe.

I know the role that Josh's energy, Rebounding, and Blocks play... I just think that Joe makes those around him better.

[spotatl]

Crank- to me Crawford has been even worse than I expected on defense. The Hawks give up 10 points per 100 possessions more when Crawford is in the game. I don't know what you could possibly be watching to think that he has been even OK at defense.

[Crank]

Crank- to me Crawford has been even worse than I expected on defense. The Hawks give up 10 points per 100 possessions more when Crawford is in the game. I don't know what you could possibly be watching to think that he has been even OK at defense.

Its like that for most sixth men whose playing time is split between the starters and the bench . They normally are in regardless of the point swing so if we are up 15-20 points with 6 -8 minute to go in the game . Crawford will be in it doesnt matter that we a trading baskets the same thing applies if we are losing by double digits .

What I look at is what hes doing in the 4th when we are trying to come back and we need a stop ? can he guard his man ? Is the opponent attacking him every possession ? We are always switching and he ends up on bigger players where is the atrociousness there ?

I look at it from the point of pace . When Crawford comes in its his job to pick up the pace and while we may give up a couple of extra baskets early it usually benefits us late as those quick shots and turnovers by our opponent from us getting them into a quicker with us gets usually translates into easy baskets for us on the other end.

[HawkWeisErrr]

Not hating on Joe, ok maybe a little, but how can someone be a team MVP when they play with such little emotion? It's not Joe that gets this team going. Watch Horford, even when on the bench, and you can see who fires this team up. Josh too, more so with his play. Crawford brings instant excitement when he comes into the game. JJ is a good player, not great, that really isn't much of a leader. I bet it's Al and Josh getting the team pumped before the game in the locker room while Joe stands back and dazes off into space.

I voted for Josh of the 2.

[spotatl]

Crank- its not like that for most guys who come in off the bench. The Hawks were better on defense with Flip murray last season. For comparison sake the Hawks give up 4 points more /100 posessions with Zaza on the court.

You really haven't see the other team taking advantage of Crawford on defense? Seriously?

And Pace has nothing to do with it- the stats I have you were per 100 posessions. And if you think about it, if the hawks are resting their starters and have all the backups in you should want FEWER posessions, not more possessions.

Edited February 9, 2010 by spotatl

[MaceCase]

Not hating on Joe, ok maybe a little, but how can someone be a team MVP when they play with such little emotion? It's not Joe that gets this team going. Watch Horford, even when on the bench, and you can see who fires this team up. Josh too, more so with his play. Crawford brings instant excitement when he comes into the game. JJ is a good player, not great, that really isn't much of a leader. I bet it's Al and Josh getting the team pumped before the game in the locker room while Joe stands back and dazes off into space.

I voted for Josh of the 2.

Duncan, Tim

[HawkWeisErrr]

Duncan, Tim

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/2008/04/photos-when-dun.html

[DjGrizz]

and Id say you are still pushing a rep from his old teams because he has been anything but atrocious defensively for us . He has steadily improved from the moment he arrived .

With that said we have no MVP . Everyone of our top 4 brings something to the table that completes the unit and is hard to replace .

I'm not 'pushing' any rep by his old teams. I'm simply saying what I see with my own two eyes. He is terrible defensively, period. For someone to not see that absolutely boggles my mind.