LD Message To Josh Smith

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Last night, LD pulled Josh at least two times letting him know that every possession is crucial and that he wants to see Josh drive to the basket more instead of taking long jumpers with time on the clock. Woody would never do this, but I digress.

When LD puts Josh back in several minutes later, a funny moment happened where the Magic left Josh wide open for a long jumper; Josh was salivating for a jump shot, but thought better for a minute and drive to the basket instead. The effect seems to be working there. But will it last for the next game and the whole series?

[BusBoyIsBack]

The bigger question is how good could Josh Smith be if he had a coach like that his whole career? Particularly the beginning of his career which is when all these bad habits form

The more success this team has the more guys will buy into LD. Josh Smith is one of the main reasons we need to beat the Magic, so he can buy more and more into LD's philosophy

Edited April 23, 2011 by BusBoyIsBack

[hawkman]

Last night, LD pulled Josh at least two times letting him know that every possession is crucial and that he wants to see Josh drive to the basket more instead of taking long jumpers with time on the clock. Woody would never do this, but I digress.

When LD puts Josh back in several minutes later, a funny moment happened where the Magic left Josh wide open for a long jumper; Josh was salivating for a jump shot, but thought better for a minute and drive to the basket instead. The effect seems to be working there. But will it last for the next game and the whole series?

Yes it will work if LD keeps it up. When LD pulled Josh for the second time, Smoove was actually surprised he was getting pulled from the game. It was as if he didnt understand what he was doing wrong out there. His reluctance to shoot at the end showed that he can be reached. Last night was a hard lesson in proper decision making being that it was on national TV AND in front of a sellout home crowd but it was necessary. I wanna see how Josh responds in Game 4.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Yes it will work if LD keeps it up. When LD pulled Josh for the second time, Smoove was actually surprised he was getting pulled from the game. It was as if he didnt understand what he was doing wrong out there. His reluctance to shoot at the end showed that he can be reached. Last night was a hard lesson in proper decision making being that it was on national TV AND in front of a sellout home crowd but it was necessary. I wanna see how Josh responds in Game 4.

That's just the thing. LD has probably been trying to get through Smoove's head for years but he's never had the actual power to pull him from a game. He has it now and he showed he wasn't afraid to use it.

[Crank]

Yes it will work if LD keeps it up. When LD pulled Josh for the second time, Smoove was actually surprised he was getting pulled from the game. It was as if he didnt understand what he was doing wrong out there. His reluctance to shoot at the end showed that he can be reached. Last night was a hard lesson in proper decision making being that it was on national TV AND in front of a sellout home crowd but it was necessary. I wanna see how Josh responds in Game 4.

Also lets not forget that Josh threw the ball out of bounds 2-3 times uncontested lol

know your role

know your role

know your role

as Ive said before that Josh wants to be scottie pippen when we need him to be Dennis rodman

He will be 30 years old and losing all his athleticism before he tries to change ala Vince carter

[Diesel]

The bigger question is how good could Josh Smith be if he had a coach like that his whole career? Particularly the beginning of his career which is when all these bad habits form

The more success this team has the more guys will buy into LD. Josh Smith is one of the main reasons we need to beat the Magic, so he can buy more and more into LD's philosophy

Exactly!!!

Josh's athletic ability and our losing ways made it a necessity in Woody's mind to keep him on the floor. What Josh needed 7 years ago was a coach who would bench him everytime he tried his Antoine Walker impersonation.

I don't know if LD would get the respect to do it. Adleman or Fratello would.

That's just the thing. LD has probably been trying to get through Smoove's head for years but he's never had the actual power to pull him from a game. He has it now and he showed he wasn't afraid to use it.

Where was this all season though??

I guess doing it when the stakes are highest makes the most impact on Josh.

[JRid]

It was pretty funny when they showed LD in the huddle saying be patient, drive the ball, and don't settle for outside shots. 30 seconds later Josh gets the ball at the 3 and almost shot it with a bunch of time left on the shot clock. He passed it and then somebody passed it back to him and he shot it that time(missed). I was screaming to yank him now and show him you are not going to put up with that crap. LD yanked him very shortly after that. I was very happy to see LD step up and do it. I hope it helps.

[CBAreject]

Josh has perhaps the lowest BB IQ on the team. His absurd 3 pt shots and ridiculous turnovers on OOB passes nearly cost us the game. I'm glad LD is being hard on him, but I didn't see much of this all season. I guess better late than never applies, but it seems like we'd be a lot better team if LD had disciplined him in the first 40 games of the season.

[MaceCase]

When it comes to Josh you have to know when to apply the carrot and when to apply the stick. I can't fault LD much for not doing this earlier because over the long slog of the season players sometimes lose sight of what the ultimate goal is and may react in unforeseen ways to too much harsh treatment. In the playoffs the goal is clear though, every game and quarter and possession matters and the team comes before the individual. Josh may have not liked it at the moment but I'm sure he certainly understood the reasoning behind the benching and will work to come out better the next time out.

[LastDon]

Larry Drew Pullin Josh for shooting jumpers is only ruining his confidence..If doesn't want Josh shooting jumpers how bout not play him at SMALL FORWARD..EVERYONE WANTS THE GUY TO DRIVE TO THE BASKET BUT HE DOESN'T HAVE THE HALF COURT DRIBBLING ABILITY TO BE EFFECTIVE DOIN SO...AS LONG AS JOSH IS IN THE GAME AT THE THREE SPOT TEAMS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HELP OF HIM AND LEAVE HIM OPEN FOR THAT SHOT..

[hawkman]

When it comes to Josh you have to know when to apply the carrot and when to apply the stick. I can't fault LD much for not doing this earlier because over the long slog of the season players sometimes lose sight of what the ultimate goal is and may react in unforeseen ways to too much harsh treatment. In the playoffs the goal is clear though, every game and quarter and possession matters and the team comes before the individual. Josh may have not liked it at the moment but I'm sure he certainly understood the reasoning behind the benching and will work to come out better the next time out.

Exactly. He responds surprisingly well to adversity. He always cheers his team on when he's on the bench and is always supportive. That's why I know there's still hope. I know his motives arent bad. He honestly wants to help the team. I actually understand his reasoning on those pass attempts and shot attempts. He's just trying to make a homerun play. Good intentions are there but bad habits distort his actions. He just needs to be 'firmly' and consistently pointed in the right direction. Don't forget, he cames straight out of high school and basically developed his offensive game on his own. There was little to no offensive direction or discipline under Woody.

Edited April 23, 2011 by hawkman

[Frenzy]

There was also a time where he was put back into the game, and was about to take a jumpshot, but instead he threw it to Horford in the post. Hopefully Josh will listen from now on.

[jy23]

My girlfriend was watching the game with me and said at one point "I hate that fat guy"...I was completely confused bc I had no idea who she was talking about, but the next time Josh touched the ball and promptly threw it out of bounds she yelled "HIM" lol and I died laughing. I told her that yes he's very frustrating but he has the ability to be the best player on this team she said "I dont see it" and I told her thats exactly y hes so damn frustrating lol. Still love Josh but he's got to get it together.

And mad props to LD for benching him...I was screaming for him to bench him after that turnover