Josh wants to be a SF

[tbhawksfan]

Smoove said he could have helped shut down the corner 3-pointers that Jefferson and Hill buried. “A couple of blown coverages when I went out of the game,”

Sound like he see's himself guarding out on the wing. Makes it easier to run out fast breaks and make highlight dunks.

[JackB1]

Smoove said he could have helped shut down the corner 3-pointers that Jefferson and Hill buried. “A couple of blown coverages when I went out of the game,”

Sound like he see's himself guarding out on the wing. Makes it easier to run out fast breaks and make highlight dunks.

Might as well make him a SF. He insists on taking jumpers and not posted up on the blocks like Drew wants him to.

[Bawse]

Put him at the SF then. He's obviously been working on his jumper, I can tell a huge difference.

[AHawks89]

Might as well make him a SF. He insists on taking jumpers and not posted up on the blocks like Drew wants him to.

Dude, you have to be the biggest Josh Smith hater I have ever seen. It's pathetic to hear you just bash on Josh every day, literally. Without Josh on the team, I'm sure you wouldn't even be a Hawks fan because our team would definitely take a hit if he was not on the team. Are you under Al's computer desk right now?

Edited December 11, 2010 by AHawks89

[exodus]

i don't see where in that quote he mentions anything about playing the 3. Looks like someone is fishing for something that isn't there.

[capstone21]

He has a lot of trouble guarding the perimeter and guarding quick slashers.

[tbhawksfan]

It would be so great for the Hawks if Smoove could continue to hit his shots, slim down and man the 3. It seems to be in his nature, now can he play the game? If he can it unties the Hawks hands as far as trade flexiblity. I don't care where he plays, I just want the team to WIN.

[JTB]

last year and years before i would have been like hell no but since smith can actually shot pretty decent this year so far i say let him at it. mean hell it might make us better for him to play sf.

[PureGreatness]

Might as well. Go for it and see what happens.

[Jody23]

So far, the Hawks have been good a team defensively and on the boards with him there. I think some people are frustrated that he's not Shawn Kemp or Amare Stoudamire. Truth is, he's never been like those players and never will be. I think Larry Drew is seeing that he is a combo forward rather than a true 3 or a true 4. This flexibility helps the Hawks rather than hurts them in my opinion. Whether people want to admit it or not, the drafting of Marvin was a big reason Josh got moved to the 4 in the first place.

Edited December 11, 2010 by Jody23

[tbhawksfan]

"the drafting of Marvin was a big reason Josh got moved to the 4 in the first place. "

Why wouldn't anyone want to admit it? It was either Smoove or MW at PF. Things change. We've been calling for some kind of move for a while, Smoove showing out at SF and the team playing well with out JJ shows potential. All of our core Horf, Smoove, JJ, MW all can slide. That's not a bad thing. Horf at PF, Smoove at SF, JJ at SG and better PG and C play and we in business.

[exodus]

"the drafting of Marvin was a big reason Josh got moved to the 4 in the first place. "

Why wouldn't anyone want to admit it? It was either Smoove or MW at PF. Things change. We've been calling for some kind of move for a while, Smoove showing out at SF and the team playing well with out JJ shows potential. All of our core Horf, Smoove, JJ, MW all can slide. That's not a bad thing. Horf at PF, Smoove at SF, JJ at SG and better PG and C play and we in business.

The problem with this is that Smith was the starting 3 in 2005, Marvin's first year. Then they drafted Shelden to play the 4 the following year and again Smith started the year at the 3.

Smith was moved to the 4 because he is a better player at the 4, not because of Marvin.

[tbhawksfan]

C'mon, we've all been trying to put Josh at the 4 for a while. He grew and played well. Can he now make the move the other way? If he can get a little quicker and keep hitting the shots...

There's another angle. If other teams GMs think he can fill either the 3 or 4; his trade value climbs. I see it all as win, win. The team is getting more flexible on the court and in trade possiblities. Our core players are splitting their minutes between positions more and becoming more versatile. And it's working.

Teague, Zaza, JC, MW and picks make for some nice possibilities to upgrade the talent at PG and C.

[exodus]

C'mon, we've all been trying to put Josh at the 4 for a while. He grew and played well. Can he now make the move the other way? If he can get a little quicker and keep hitting the shots...

There's another angle. If other teams GMs think he can fill either the 3 or 4; his trade value climbs. I see it all as win, win. The team is getting more flexible on the court and in trade possiblities. Our core players are splitting their minutes between positions more and becoming more versatile. And it's working.

Teague, Zaza, JC, MW and picks make for some nice possibilities to upgrade the talent at PG and C.

LOL Smith isn't going to get any quicker.

Smith has spent plenty of time at both the 3 and 4 positions and is better at both ends at the 4. Last year was Smiths best year in spite of poor outside shooting and he spent all of his time at the 4. He has played well at the 4 this year.

The only way Smith spending much time at the 3 makes sense (other than shuffling due to injuries) is if the Hawks get a center (besides Horford) who is actually good. The other centers they have right now suck. Last night they got a total of 4 points in 48 minutes at the center position. Even if they did add a quality center Smith would probably wind up playing half his time at the 4.

[Atlantaholic]

If we get a good defensive/ rebounding center, I think going with Smith at the 3 would be perfect for us. Our defense would be stellar. Also, I like the lineup with Powell + Horf + Smith with Bibby on the floor. I think offensively that is a lineup that has amazing scoring potential specifically because all those guys are GREAT pick and roll/pop guys. I wouldn't mind seeing a lot of Powell + Horf + Smith +JJ + Bibby/Crawford once JJ gets back.

[terrell]

Might as well make him a SF. He insists on taking jumpers and not posted up on the blocks like Drew wants him to.

He does both. What games have you been watching? Drew said he can live with the jumpers, as long as he keeps bringing the intensity and playing good defense. And the guy worked on his shot this summer. If you dont see the improvement, you must be blind. Why do you think LD told him to lose some weight? WAY better than Marvin is at sf. It also moves Horford to pf. With JJ at the 2, Josh at the 3, and Al at the 4, we're a pg and a center away from being ELITE. Btw, this move also moves Marvin to the bench where he belongs. And remember Josh was a sf as a rookie, till Woody decided to start playing players out of position. Drafting Marvin messed everything up. Edited December 12, 2010 by terrell

[HawksBalla]

Move Smoove to 3 only if we can trade away either Marvin or JJ. Otherwise, Smoove makes more sense for this ROSTER at the 4.

[lethalweapon3]

For me , it's the "other" Josh that makes this thing work. His offensive production at backup PF allows LD to "put up" with Smoove's outside shooting and lets the Hawx go 3-deep at SF (perhaps someday, we'll get to Sy 4-deep), effectively masking our incumbent flaws at that position. He gives Al someone other than Smoove to spell him when they want to slide him to PF. By doing so, it allows the Horfordaires (Zaza, JaCo, Etan) to make substantive contributions at C. I haven't crunched any numbers, but have we not had offensive production at the backup PF spot like this since... Lorenzen? Hendu?

~lw3

[Jody23]

Move Smoove to 3 only if we can trade away either Marvin or JJ. Otherwise, Smoove makes more sense for this ROSTER at the 4.

I don't think you have to trade away Marvin or JJ to move Smoove to the 3. LD said there would still be times when Collins would start when JJ comes back. Besides, the lineup is more effective on the boards and defensively with Josh at 3 and Marvin is more suited to be coming off the bench anyway.

[BudBall]

Bibby

JJ

Smoove

Horf

Collins

Collins at center until we trade marv for haywood lol.