Did Joe step back and allow Smoove to shine... on purpose?

[Diesel]

i agree with you holdheartedly eddielives i think the reason why he took a lot of shots is b/c he realises this team needs a superstar.the 120 million dollar man doesnt want the position so he tried to take it.

The one thing that Josh realizes is that his contract is up next year and if he's going to get max paid, he has to show something.Josh put himself before the team.

[Diesel]

When Joe first came to the Hawks, he was able to gut his way to some impressive numbers. He was borderline superstar and definitely legit star player for 2-3 years. But when the Hawks started making the playoffs and it really mattered, teams with good coaching and better players figured out Joe and the Hawks. The basic strategy?..double team Joe. He's slow to react to the double team and will dribble his team out of plays too often. Joe pads his stats against inferior teams because that's what a good player can and should do. But when the time comes that it matters the most, Joe is an easily solvable puzzle. As hard as it is to see Josh force his game sometimes, who can blame him on a team that is often searching for the offensive spark Joe can no longer consistently provide and still struggling to find an offensive identity in general,

Coaches figured out the Hawks.1. Double Joe. You're right. It's hard for Joe to pass out because nobody moves when Joe has the ball. We still have that same Iso ball. If you don't double Joe, he goes off. 2. Give Smoove the open Shot beyond the arc. HE WILL TAKE IT EVERYTIME.Coaches know that this player who never went to college, never learned to be part of a team and has never been disciplined for his mistakes will get out there and take every three pointer that is offered to him because just like a spoiled child, he will continue to try to prove that he can hit it. Get the highlight reel of any playoff game... you will see Josh wide open with the ball in his hand at the three point line and defenders backing away.Joe has requested help. We gave him Craw and Craw was help and we were a good team. The real help has to be some inside player. Gasol comes to mind.

[MaceCase]

I just have to laugh at the mock shock over guys being selected on past merit rather than current production.

[NineOhTheRino]

Coaches figured out the Hawks.

1. Double Joe. You're right. It's hard for Joe to pass out because nobody moves when Joe has the ball. We still have that same Iso ball. If you don't double Joe, he goes off.

2. Give Smoove the open Shot beyond the arc. HE WILL TAKE IT EVERYTIME.

Coaches know that this player who never went to college, never learned to be part of a team and has never been disciplined for his mistakes will get out there and take every three pointer that is offered to him because just like a spoiled child, he will continue to try to prove that he can hit it. Get the highlight reel of any playoff game... you will see Josh wide open with the ball in his hand at the three point line and defenders backing away.

Joe has requested help. We gave him Craw and Craw was help and we were a good team. The real help has to be some inside player. Gasol comes to mind.

Source? Link?

Joe could care less about help on the court.

"I'm rich b**ch!"

-Ashy Larry

[Guest]

I don't think so. Joe plays within the flow of the offense, he has lost a step, he needs some aggression sometimes (well most of the time). Josh shot the ball more because Al went down and I think he shot the ball too much with a lot of ill-advise shots. Too may times in the 1st quarter he is 1-7 from long dumb jump shots. Josh shot more because he wanted to and LD had nothing to say, his FA'cy is coming up and he was trying to showcase his offensive repertoire.

Josh did shine alright...sometimes for all the wrong reasons.

Edited June 14, 2012 by JayBirdHawk

[Admin]

I see the JJ protection force is out in full! Seriously man this is conspiritorial to the nth degree!

[Buzzard]

I could see this happening. Wade stepped back for Bron, he said so publicly. JJ taking a back seat to Smoove should not be a reach. In fact if you look at JJs shots taken this season vs last season it is obvious. Horford being out you would think JJs shots would have went up instead of down.

[EazyRoc]

I see the JJ protection force is out in full! Seriously man this is conspiritorial to the nth degree!

I can't believe some people are taking this thread seriously. People love conspiracy theories.

[Supporter]

Stats have shown that JJ had a very productive and efficient year last year. The only reason his points were down is because of his decrease in shot attempts. JJ is still a very talented scorer, the only things that worry me are his injuries and inability to rebound the ball at his position. Yes, he is not worth his contract, but it's a lost cause to talk about it right now. If we really want to improve we have to build around Joe, Horf, and Teague because they are the only guys that will stay on the team past next year. That means getting a true low post scorer that can compliment JJ's perimeter game, Horfords midrange jumpshot, and Teague's quickness.

[Buzzard]

I can't believe some people are taking this thread seriously. People love conspiracy theories.

It is not the conspiracy theory part for me. It is the facts that Smoove took a lot more shots this season and JJ took less despite losing our 3rd and 4th ( Horford and Craw ) scoring options from last season.I guarantee you if anyone on this board was asked if we were to lose both Crawford and Horford for this season would JJ's number of shots go DOWN, the answer would be 9 to 1 no way in hell!

[MaceCase]

You know the correlation between Wade and Joe? They both are old and not as good as their younger counterparts anymore. Wade isn't too proud though to admit that he can't take over games like he used to rather than claiming some conspiracy where he's scaling back to let Bron shine so people will like him more I guess and not call him Robin.

It's funny because I laughed at an observation that former coach (using the coach credential is like asking the pope about a bible scripture it seems) Jeff Van Gundy said during game 1 that Boston only brought the double team against Wade and never Lebron.........but that doesn't make sense! You only bring the double against the greatest players on a team! Not because it's actually an effective strategy that can actually work against a guy!

[EazyRoc]

Just so you guys know...Joes FGA only decreased by .5 from last season.

[Supporter]

Just so you guys know...Joes FGA only decreased by .5 from last season.

But 2.7 shots from the year he was averaging 21.3 ppg. Joe's shot attempts did decrease by .6 but he also improved his scoring average by .6. This means that he took less shots but scored more points. Josh however increased his fga per game by 3.2 shots and only scored 2.3 more points. He is not as effecient of a player when he takes volume shots despite what people think. Truth is that Joe should never take less shots in a game compared to Josh because he is a better scorer than Josh. But some people think that giving Josh more shots lets him play his "game"...pretty ludacris if you ask me. But hey it is what it is.

[EazyRoc]

I mentioned that to show that this idea that Joe took a step back to let Josh shine is ridiculous.

[Supporter]

I mentioned that to show that this idea that Joe took a step back to let Josh shine is ridiculous.

Well I would say that he took a step back in the sense that he took less shots with Horford (our second/third option on offense) while Josh increased his by 3. It could also be a part of the system and what Drew wanted but I felt like Joe def. should have increased his field goal attempts when a leading scorer goes down, I mean Joe is known for his scoring right?

[Buzzard]

I mentioned that to show that this idea that Joe took a step back to let Josh shine is ridiculous.

Not really if you factor in losing our 3rd and 4th scoring options. Seriously, if Kobe lost Odom and Bynum do you think his shots would go down? And not just Kobe, ask that question concerning losing their 3rd and 4th scoring options any teams leading scorer from last season.I think it is perposterous to not acknowledge the fact that JJ did play a huge role in Josh getting so many shots this season.

[EazyRoc]

Well I would say that he took a step back in the sense that he took less shots with Horford (our second/third option on offense) while Josh increased his by 3. It could also be a part of the system and what Drew wanted but I felt like Joe def. should have increased his field goal attempts when a leading scorer goes down, I mean Joe is known for his scoring right?

You have to account for Teague taking shots. I agree that Joe logically should have taken more shots, but I don't think it was his intention to take less shots so Josh can take more.

[EazyRoc]

Not really if you factor in losing our 3rd and 4th scoring options. Seriously, if Kobe lost Odom and Bynum do you think his shots would go down? And not just Kobe, ask that question concerning losing their 3rd and 4th scoring options any teams leading scorer from last season.I think it is perposterous to not acknowledge the fact that JJ did play a huge role in Josh getting so many shots this season.

This is absurd. So Joe played a huge role in Josh chucking long mid range shots...?

[Buzzard]

This is absurd. So Joe played a huge role in Josh chucking long mid range shots...?

He played a huge role by not becoming a selfish ball hog. But honestly, would you rather Josh chuck from 20ft or JJ?Next question, did Josh play team ball or JJ when Horford went down?Next question, was Josh playing for a contract?Next question, did JJ give Teague more of a chance to learn and play in his first full year or Josh? Edited June 14, 2012 by Buzzard

[AHF]

I don't think it was his intention to take less shots so Josh can take more.

Nor do I. If Joe did that, then he is a moron or disloyal to the team or he is being coached by an idiot who should have been let go this offseason. Joe was a much more efficient scorer who should have taken more shots instead of Josh.