Should the hawks TRY to use Josh Smith in a LBJ/Magic role?

[JTB]

Before you call me crazy I wouldnt mind us trying this for this season at smith trying to be a point forward. we are rebuilding, we have all these shooters around, smith is gon be smith and even if we do make the playoffs we aint going no where. so why not experiment! other than harris, smith is probably our next best passer.

my thoughts:

I have my own thoughts as im a tiny bit torn believe that or not. i do think smith is a nice passer for his size but him attempting even more shots scare me but then im like well hell johnson is gone so the dude gon end up shooting more anyways! LOL....its really just a thought. of course i would say yeas to this if smith had the ability to mold into a point forward which he does in some aspect but his mindest just isnt there so overall i would have to say yes try it this season and then drop it if it doesnt work!

........but damn it would be great if smith could turn into a point forward and play a lebron/magic johnson role!

LOL im not crazy i know about smith as much as you guys do but look:

-the guy stands on the perimeter and will keep standing there no matter what

-im sure he feels the hawks are officially his team now that Johnson is gon even though horford is there

-smith always trys to bring the ball up the court, he never passes it to one of the guards to walk it up the court

-we aint goin no where as of right now so it wouldnt hurt anything

-MOST IMPORTANTLY....smith will probably try to run our offense anyways! knowing him!

Im just saying guys i could go on and make that list longer! lol but smith is going to be smith especially if he see's himself as the teams best player and im certain he does!........................................................

your thoughts?

(ps i see most of you disagreeing to this and i dont blame you but i say we have nothing to lose at this point, so lets experiment...why not!)

[Admin]

He's not nearly a good enough dribbler to pull that off. He's got great vision but he's not going to get by anyone with his dribbling.

[Peoriabird]

Plus we have enough point guards on the team already...Josh needs to be the finisher on the break not the one throwing the lob!

[JTB]

He's not nearly a good enough dribbler to pull that off. He's got great vision but he's not going to get by anyone with his dribbling.

true his dribbles would be a problem...but honestly i dont really think lebron has great dribbling ability, maybe just good enough for what he needs to do.

[Guest]

true his dribbles would be a problem...but honestly i dont really think lebron has great dribbling ability, maybe just good enough for what he needs to do.

C'mon man, I'm no LBJ fan but saying he doesn't have great dribbling ability? How many times does he lose the ball in traffic compared to Josh, more often than not LBJ makes the right pass. I still remember Josh trying to make a long pass on a break and hitting the backboard - twice - in the same game. Never thought that was possible. Josh makes nice passes in a half court sets not so much in transition. Edited July 25, 2012 by JayBirdHawk

[Pmeehan]

Josh's handles would kill us. I think this next season would be interesting to watch. Since we have so many shooters, i think that it will force Josh into more open buckets closer to the basket...at least i hope it does

[Plainview1981]

This would be a good way to get a top pick in next years draft.

[niremetal]

When I saw this topic in the forum, I thought "this has to be a snark post, right?"

Edited July 26, 2012 by niremetal

[hawkman]

He's not nearly a good enough dribbler to pull that off. He's got great vision but he's not going to get by anyone with his dribbling.

Agreed. Unless he comes back next season with a tighter handle(wishful thinking), he can't be Magic or LBJ-like for us. I'd rather him approach every game like how he approached the OKC game during the regular season. He had a VERY nice inside/outside game going against OKC. It made him virtually unguardable.

[Guest Walter]

This would be a good way to get a top pick in next years draft.

Funny. W

[benhillboy]

I'm always for thinking outside the box, but as you predicted, you're pretty much alone on this one, J.

[JTB]

LOL and these comments so far were expected! I couldn't help but to make a post about it!

[Bruhman91]

Joe had the handles to get over 6 apg,Josh doesn't

[EazyRoc]

You know what would be awesome ? If he would use his vision to be an outstanding outlet passer, we could actually be a good fast break team.

[thecampster]

No to the Josh question. We should run pick n roll. Harris mentoring Teague, pnr with Horford and Smith. Four man game at all times. Roll, cutter, PG and sniper in the corner. Let Jenkins, Korver feed when they double off the pick. Josh's primary role should be second option cutting to the basket on the Horford pick and roll. His second role should be the pick with pg drive as first option. His 3rd role should be as post up in an in/out game with the snipers. Zaza / Petro should live off of garbage buckets.

[Mdizzle5]

Joe had the handles to get over 6 apg,Josh doesn't

I'd argue that getting assists is more of a vision thing. I think Josh COULD get 6 apg, IF he played to his strengths. Teams would be forced to put more pressure on him... leaving one of our many shooters open. That said, I do hope that Josh is working on his ball handling right now in anticipation that he may be playing more SF than he has the past few seasons.

[frosgrim]

I'd argue that getting assists is more of a vision thing. I think Josh COULD get 6 apg, IF he played to his strengths. Teams would be forced to put more pressure on him... leaving one of our many shooters open. That said, I do hope that Josh is working on his ball handling right now in anticipation that he may be playing more SF than he has the past few seasons.

It's not just vision it's decision making. Josh is just a bad decision maker. There are many aspects to Josh's game that are very good to almost elite, but passing, dribbling, and decision making aren't part of that suite. In fact, those are his weaknesses. Putting him in the possition to be the lead decision maker is just awful. If Drew does this, he should be fired on the spot, no questions asked.

Josh is an around the bucket player. He doesn't seem to like that idea, but that is where he can be really good. If he stays around the basket this year, he'll make the All-Star team and get the recognition he desperately seeks. Putting him on the perimeter kills what Ferry is building. Smith in the post makes the shooters that much better. Plus, having those shooters for Smith to pass to on double-teams makes him that much better. Hopefully, Smith (and Drew) get this and the 20' jump shot is going to be put in the closet.

[MrMeltdown]

Josh is a erratic decision maker rather it is taking bad shots or throwing bad passes. People just forget the bad with Josh and choose to focus on good while doing the opposite with others. I have not forgotten all the long full court passes that hit the backboard.

Edited July 26, 2012 by MrMeltdown

[Jbrinson]

Josh is a pretty good passer. He's gotten a couple of triple doubles or at least close to it. He'll have to refine his ball handling though. I think our team had a better flow when Josh and Jeff rather then Iso Joe. Josh is great.

[capstone21]

It takes a lot of BBIQ to play that kind of role that LBJ and Magic have....Josh has very low BBIQ. He is a willing passer but not a great one...those bullet passes are often unneccesary and unless you have great hands they often end up in the stands.