Zach Lowe: Smith’s attitude poses problems for Hawks

[AHF]

The league’s most fascinating Coach vs. Player tug-of-war doesn’t involve DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento or Terrence Williams in New Jersey. No, the most intriguing battle is the one brewing in Atlanta, between rookie coach Larry Drew and forward Josh Smith — a fight that boiled over in public this past weekend.

The feud has been brewing all season, and it stems from the fact that Smith is shooting jumpers again. Everyone around the league praised his discipline last season, when he ditched the three-point shot and concentrated much more on getting to the rim, drawing fouls and finding teammates. Smith had the best season of his career, recording personal highs in Player Efficiency Rating and assist rate. He still took 3.3 long two-point jumpers per 40 minutes, despite being a demonstrably bad jump shooter, but his shot selection was moving in the right direction overall. The cognoscenti rejoiced.

Smith is back at it with the jumpers this season. He has already attempted 26 three-pointers after jacking just seven last season, and is tossing up a career-high 4.3 long two-pointers per 40 minutes, according to Hoopdata.

And Drew is not happy about it.

The coach benched Smith midway through the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s win over the Sixers on Friday after he missed a 22-footer and a 20-footer after Drew instructed him to avoid such shots. Smith threw a bit of a tantrum in response. He yelled at Drew as he went to the bench and spent the rest of the game sulking and ignoring team huddles. This is the sort of thing that quickly becomes a dangerous situation for a player and his team.

But Smith, to his credit, apologized immediately after the game, according to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

“First thing he did after the game, I came in to address the team and he said, ‘Hey, coach, I just want to apologize to everyone for how I handled the situation,’” Drew said. “He didn’t have to do that, but he did. I think he knows in his heart he didn’t handle that the right way, especially if I am looking at him being one of my captains.”

But Smith went right back to firing away the next night in Miami. Of Smith’s first four shots, one was a 16-foot jumper (he missed) and two were three-pointers that the Heat invited him to take. Smith made both threes, but he appeared to perturb Drew again in doing so. The second Smith released his first three-pointer, Drew got up from his seat on the bench and pointed to another player to get up and check in. No exaggeration here: The shot was still in midair when Drew rose from his seat.

It was hard to tell which player Drew looked at to check in for Smith — it appeared to be Josh Powell. But no matter, because Drew actually kept Smith in the game for another 3:13, even though he had a TV timeout where he could have taken him out. Maybe Drew thought better of having a re-run of Friday’s issue. Maybe Drew decided he wouldn’t punish Smith after he made a basket. Maybe it’s all just a coincidence, and Drew called for a totally unrelated substitution at the exact moment Smith released a three-pointer. But I doubt it.

Smith is clearly testing his boundaries here. He likes to shoot jumpers, he thinks he’s good at it and he’s continuing to shoot them despite orders to do so on a much more limited basis. Smith has made 12 of his 26 threes (good for 46 percent), so perhaps we should at least consider the possibility that he has actually improved his three-point shooting. Unlikely, though, considering the larger sample size that suggests Smith is such a poor three-point shooter that he should throw the shot out of his repertoire.

This is a situation to monitor. When the Hawks re-signed Al Horford to a five-year, $60 million deal five weeks ago, I lauded the deal but noted it essentially meant the team was stuck with its current core until Smith’s deal expires after the 2012-13 season. That’s exactly why several league GMs told ESPN.com’s Chad Ford that they expect the Hawks to be open to dealing Smith at the trade deadline this season.

Attitude aside, Smith is a very productive player. He can score at the rim, he’s a monster in transition and his defensive skills (when he’s engaged) go well beyond the highlight-reel shot blocks. It is, of course, folly to trade a productive young player (Smith turned 25 over the weekend) just because you make the mistake of signing Joe Johnson, who at 29 earned one of the richest contracts in the game’s history and tied up the team’s cap space as a result. But NBA teams don’t always use that sort of logic. A team that sees itself stuck with a core that can’t win a championship will sometimes make a deal on the off-chance that it’ll strike gold on a low-odds gamble.

It’s hard to say if the Hawks will do that with Smith, but the chances of such a trade happening probably go up if he can’t coexist with Drew.

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2010/12/06/smiths-attitude-poses-problems-for-hawks/

[IHeartAtlanta]

Boo

[GameTime]

Get Smith out if he is still sulking. I am tired of his attitude. He is 25 now. Not 18.

[Joker]

Smith needs to learn to within the system and stop getting so down. I have no issues with the long jumpers since he making them but I have an issue with his early jacking of shoots and poor defense when angry. That's when I have an issue. Right now, he doing good. He was the best player tonight, totally outplaying Dwight.

[Gray Mule]

Smith needs an attitude adjustment and it must come from inside J.S.

No one can do it for him. He can be pushed but if he will not change

someone else needs him and his attitude - -Regardless of how athletic

he is.

He can be great. He can be a rotten brat. It's up to him. Be an adult

or be a child.

:saythat:

[gsuteke]

he was shooting them again tonight.

HOWEVER Smoove has no low post game so WTF is he supposed to do. Horford has no post game either for that matter.

Edited December 7, 2010 by gsuteke

[AHF]

he was shooting them again tonight.

HOWEVER Smoove has no low post game so WTF is he supposed to do. Horford has no post game either for that matter.

Despite his improved jump shooting, he shot 1/2 the jump shots last year and scored roughly the same amount at a higher efficiency. If he is closer to the basket he is there for putbacks and offensive rebounds and he (like Horford) can score very effectively taking the ball to the hole against PFs.

I am OK with shooting jumpers if you are scoring at an effective rate, but outright defying your coach isn't going to cut it.

That said, I am not one of the people who wants to get rid of Josh. I just want to see him buy into the the team concept and not defy his coach for his own personal agenda.

[DJlaysitup]

he was shooting them again tonight.

HOWEVER Smoove has no low post game so WTF is he supposed to do. Horford has no post game either for that matter.

Well I dunno teke. We know Smoove has worked in the off season both on his inside and outside game. Just because you work hard doesn't mean your gonna be Hakeem inside or Bird outside though...just means you will likely improve over what you were. In this case - currently:

Smoove has started all the games...played 32.5 mpg (second on the team)...shooting .473 on FGs...shooting .462 on 3pt FGs...shooting .704 on FTs...Avg 9 rebounds per game....3.8 assists per game (tied for second on the team)...1.43 steals per game (nearly double the next player on the team)...2.24 blocks per game (more than double any player on the team)...2.62 turnovers per game (also leads the team :biggrin: )...and 3.1 fouls per game (reasonable for a guy who challenges in the paint).

Smoove actually has a bit of a low post game - just not a "go to" low post game at this point - he also shoots as well or better than a lot of guys.

[Bawse]

Smoove might need an attitude adjustment, but you cannot deny the fact that he was DEFINITELY improved his mid-range game. He's actually knocking down a lot of shots.

If it's effecting team chemistry though, that's another issue.

[WraithSentinel]

I had a weird dream I was in 2010. I just check the date and thank goodness it is still 2004.

[thecampster]

5 times this year Josh Smith has shot below 40%.

12 times this year Josh has shot 50% or higher.

Before tonight, he had a personal PER rating of 20.37 good for 38th in the league (30th among players with 30 or more minutes per game).

I've always heard you choose your fight wisely. The Hawks have won 14 games this year. I can honestly say we don't win 7 of those without Josh Smith.

The Hawks have lost 8 games this year. I can't think of one of those game we lost solely because of Josh Smith.

The author needs to pick a different target. Joe Johnson easily cost us 3 of the games during our 4 game losing streak.

You don't trade 25 year old stat stuffing talent because you don't like that he pouts. He's emotional. Basketball is an emotional game. The same player that pouts is also the same guy jumping off the bench to cheer on his replacement when Powell was having such a good game the other night. He's the same guy who lost his mind on Marvin's dunks.

Oh and Josh went for 19/13/4/3/1 tonight and once again he and Horford are the reasons we won the game tonight.

[DJlaysitup]

From the lead post:

"

But Smith went right back to firing away the next night in Miami. Of Smith's first four shots, one was a 16-foot jumper (he missed) and two were three-pointers that the Heat invited him to take. Smith made both threes, but he appeared to perturb Drew again in doing so. The second Smith released his first three-pointer, Drew got up from his seat on the bench and pointed to another player to get up and check in. No exaggeration here: The shot was still in midair when Drew rose from his seat.

It was hard to tell which player Drew looked at to check in for Smith — it appeared to be Josh Powell. But no matter, because Drew actually kept Smith in the game for another 3:13, even though he had a TV timeout where he could have taken him out. Maybe Drew thought better of having a re-run of Friday's issue. Maybe Drew decided he wouldn't punish Smith after he made a basket. Maybe it's all just a coincidence, and Drew called for a totally unrelated substitution at the exact moment Smith released a three-pointer. But I doubt it.

Smith is clearly testing his boundaries here. He likes to shoot jumpers, he thinks he's good at it and he's continuing to shoot them despite orders to do so on a much more limited basis. Smith has made 12 of his 26 threes (good for 46 percent), so perhaps we should at least consider the possibility that he has actually improved his three-point shooting. Unlikely, though, considering the larger sample size that suggests Smith is such a poor three-point shooter that he should throw the shot out of his repertoire."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Well sure! why wouldn't we want a guy shooting 46% from three to stop shooting them? Well - aahhh - maybe because of the extra point you get for making a three?. 46% on threes = 69% on twos....Duhhhhh

You simply can't look at history to predict/define Smoove's game. Smoove is a professional basketball player. He's not a part-time student or a poet - he is a professional basketball player who improves his game every year by working on his basketball skills.

That is something that I appreciate...a person who understands his profession and strives to improve every year. Is he goofy sometimes? - yep - something he should strive to improve on more. (meaning being smarter).

Edited December 7, 2010 by DJlaysitup

[TheTruth]

5 times this year Josh Smith has shot below 40%.

12 times this year Josh has shot 50% or higher.

Before tonight, he had a personal PER rating of 20.37 good for 38th in the league (30th among players with 30 or more minutes per game).

I've always heard you choose your fight wisely. The Hawks have won 14 games this year. I can honestly say we don't win 7 of those without Josh Smith.

The Hawks have lost 8 games this year. I can't think of one of those game we lost solely because of Josh Smith.

The author needs to pick a different target. Joe Johnson easily cost us 3 of the games during our 4 game losing streak.

You don't trade 25 year old stat stuffing talent because you don't like that he pouts. He's emotional. Basketball is an emotional game. The same player that pouts is also the same guy jumping off the bench to cheer on his replacement when Powell was having such a good game the other night. He's the same guy who lost his mind on Marvin's dunks.

Oh and Josh went for 19/13/4/3/1 tonight and once again he and Horford are the reasons we won the game tonight.

As my dad says all the time, "But that's not the issue here." The overall point of contention is that Smoove is defying his coach...and you just don't do that. Especially when the coach is right. In essence, Drew likely does not care that he is making 46% from the limited sample size of threes he has attempted this year, or that he has a seemingly improved jumper. Instead, he is pissed off that although Josh is much better as a player, and is more useful to the team, when he plays near the basket, he still too oftentimes likes to take jumpers early in the shot clock, refuse to attack the rim, or clamp down defensively in the paint.

Period.

Edited December 7, 2010 by TheTruth

[thecampster]

As my dad says all the time, "But that's not the issue here." The overall point of contention is that Smoove is defying his coach...and you just don't do that. Especially when the coach is right. In essence, Drew likely does not care that he is making 46% from the limited sample size of threes he has attempted this year, or that he has a seemingly improved jumper. Instead, he is pissed off that although Josh is much better as a player, and is more useful to the team, when he plays near the basket, he still too oftentimes likes to take jumpers early in the shot clock, refuse to attack the rim, or clamp down defensively in the paint.

Period.

That is not it...period. The author does not know what the problem is but was only offering conjecture based on widely held opinions.

Truth be known, none of us know what is said in the locker room or behind closed doors. We don't know he's defying the coach and neither does the article writer. Logic would tell us that if he's shooting 3 times as many jumpers this year, it's because it's a part of the offense. This is just another national writer who doesn't know anything about the Hawks making wild conjecture. Josh wasn't benched because he shoots jumpers. Josh was benched because he was already 4-13 but hoisted up 2 more shots back to back, that were forced and missed them. He wasn't playing team ball. He was not only off but caught JJ disease and tried to shoot his way out of it. He tried to be a hero and I've noticed from Drew he'll have none of that. He pulled Crawford a few games earlier for the same thing.

These bash Josh threads have really got to stop. The guy is 3rd on the team in points and assists, 2nd in rebounds, 1st in steals and blocks, has his FT percentage over 70% and is 2nd on the team in 3 point %. Other than 2.6 turnovers a game, he isn't hurting his team at all.

Joe Johnson on the other hand signed a 120+ million dollar contract in the offseason while hiding an elbow injury from the team. He has seen a reduction in points, steals, rebounds, fg%, 3pt % and ft %. If you want to see someone who's killing this team right now, just look at ole' number 2. They are winning without him. The Hawks would not be so fortunate without Josh.

[Diesel]

Do you want the problems that Josh Smith Brings or the problems that DeMarcus Cousins bring? Give me Smith.

[tremor]

Do you want the problems that Josh Smith Brings or the problems that DeMarcus Cousins bring? Give me Smith.

Exactly. Josh, while having some issues, is not that bad, he just happens to have the worst attitude on this team.

[macdaddy]

This is so overblown. This whole article is based on one publicized incident and some dork watching from the stands and guessing intent. LD is benching everyone when they play poorly. Notice Marvin, Crawford, Bibby, Mo, Teague, Zaza aren't getting the predictable minutes they once were. When they aren't playing well he's going somewhere else yet none of these are generating publicity.

Everyone thinks Al is the second coming of Duncan because he worked on his shot and is nailing them. Well Smoove did the same and is shooting as well as anyone on the team outside of Al and Bibby and all we hear is that he is defying his coach. Funny. It seems like LD's only statement on this is 'I"m not going to tell him not to shoot jumpers'.

[lethalweapon3]

Forgive me if I'm out of line here, but what the hell is a Zach Lowe?

~lw3

[AHF]

Forgive me if I'm out of line here, but what the hell is a Zach Lowe?

~lw3

I typically attribute the article to the source. He was the writer on the article which was posted on cnnsi.

On Smith's shooting, I am thrilled he is shooting better on his jumpers. It is worth noting, however, that even though his efg% on jumpers is MUCH higher and his ft% is significantly higher that his overall scoring efficiency has been slightly worse than last season because he hasn't been shooting as much on the inside where he is most effective. (His TS% this season is .530, lower than either of the last two seasons). Spending less time on the inside also means he is spending less time getting offensive rebounds - which not surprisingly are down .5 rp36 this season on the offensive glass compared to last year.

I am absolutely not someone who wants Smith gone. I also don't know for sure whether he is defying his coach but if the article is accurate on that point - it is definitely something to be concerned about. You can't install an offensive system without people being disciplined and 4 people following the offensive system and one freelancing isn't going to work. If Smith's outside shot is this good, it is LD's job to incorporate it into the offense - not Smith's to buck the system and do as he wants.

Smith is one of our "big three" and an essential player for our success. I hope the article is exaggerated and Smith really is rowing in the same direction as everyone else.

[Swatguy]

D needs to understand his team. Josh has a WIDE range of talents and coach is to utilize those talents for the best, not limit the team and him. Let that dog Eat !!, I say.If the guy is nailing the three, run a play for him occasionally.

Coach, coach.