Why does Josh stand in the middle of the free throw circle?

[AHF]

You are wrong. Why are you wrong? I am just going to claim you are wrong because of a mental hurdle.

Boom. Argument done. You like apples? How about dem apples! I EXPLAINED IT ALL!

So. Dale Murphy is too lazy to practice throwing the ball to the pitcher because you don't think mental issues are easily understood?

How about dem apples! I EXPLAINED IT ALL!

Edited May 3, 2013 by AHF

[AHF]

The reality is that you have no idea whether Josh Smith, Chuck Knoblach, Dale Murphy, Nick Anderson, etc. spent a reasonable amount of time practicing their skills or not but you are throwing that out there and then acting like it is more reasonable.

It is rank speculation with respect to whether these guys practiced enough let alone whether that was the causal issue.

Just because the link from inadequate practice to worse performance is better understood than mental blocks or mental health issues doesn't mean that it is the only explanation or the correct explanation.

Edited May 3, 2013 by AHF

[AHF]

Because it is more reasonable. Think about what your explanation actually tells you.

NOTHING!!!!

That is right, it tells you nothing.

Now take a look at how you dismiss my answer...go ahead I will sit here.

If you are doing it with an unbiased look, you will see how asinine your rebuttals are. Someone who is a lawyer should know how to tell the difference between modus tollens and modus ponens. My argument is of the later and you are trying to portray it as affirming the consequent. You are committing a logical fallacy to my argument. I have set up a simple theory of "If P then Q", if you don't practice then your free throw percentage suffers. When you ask why has Josh seen a dip in his FT% I respond with this as a potential reason that has a reason. If you want to transform this argument to other situations (which you are doing) then: If you don't practice throwing the ball to second base, then you will turn in to Chucky Knob. Yet here you are, being a total buffoon and saying that I imply Chuck Knoblauch did not practice and neither did Dale Murphy or whoever else you want to bring up. Nope, I do not imply this. You are completely out of line and cannot apply simple logic in this scenario.

Someone who does not pay attention to an argument may think you are right in this scenario, AHF. But you are most definitely wrong. You cannot affirm the consequent and you are implying that my argument somehow is one of affirming the consequent (it is not, never has been and never will me). I have already argued with you about this before and you did the same thing there. You still don't give a reason.

You implied that practice was the reason for Josh.

Evidence for this? Bad free throw shooting.

I suggested that it could be a mental issue.

You suggested there are no such things as mental issues thus bringing into question both Josh's specific free throw shooting and the rationale for other repetitive tasks in sports.

I gave you examples of some situations that seem patently mental to suggest that sometimes mental issues can affect performance on the field. You ignored them.

You have offered only speculation but you are pretending like it is something more.

I have no problem with you questioning whether it is Josh's work ethic (this becomes stronger if you find some evidence of his failure to practice free throws) but to suggest that a player's mental state, confidence, etc. is never a factor in performance is overreaching in your argument. Your better point on this issue is that mental factors are much more difficult to define and identify and so anyone suggesting that is almost certainly speculating by definition. However, that point is undermined when you are doing nothing more than speculating yourself.

Edited May 3, 2013 by AHF

[Admin]

AHF has done a great job of explaining himself and he's completely right that it could just as well be a mental issue as it is a practice issue. In fact I'd say it's much more likely that a guy who's known to be a hard worker but weak mentally would struggle with FT's because of a mental issue.

Having seen the Chuck Knoblauch thing pretty closely being a die hard Yankees fan and being a Dale Murphy fan growing up I absolutely believe in pro athletes all of a sudden struggling to do things they routinely did for years and years.

On the other hand you've done nothing but speculate on something you have no more proof of than what AHF has argued and you've also found time to throw in a few insults in between. Good job!

[NiquesBiggestFan]

If Josh Smith has spent his entire career practicing FT's, over and over, and during this time he was shooting them from the line, then why the hell is he moving around??? I played baseball too and I'm a right handed hitter. When I went into a hitting slump I did not start hitting left handed to try to end the slump. I kept doing what I was used to doing and fought, or tried to, my way out of it.

Josh Smith has been playing basketball for a LONG time. FT mechanics should be natural to him. You keep doing what you've done all your basketball life, follow the mechanics like you always have, and fight out of the slump. You DO NOT start moving around the circle looking for a NEW FT style.

You do not and cannot FIX the problem if you stand at a different spot every time you shoot a FT.

[Admin]

If Josh Smith has spent his entire career practicing FT's, over and over, and during this time he was shooting them from the line, then why the hell is he moving around??? I played baseball too and I'm a right handed hitter. When I went into a hitting slump I did not start hitting left handed to try to end the slump. I kept doing what I was used to doing and fought, or tried to, my way out of it.

Josh Smith has been playing basketball for a LONG time. FT mechanics should be natural to him. You keep doing what you've done all your basketball life, follow the mechanics like you always have, and fight out of the slump. You DO NOT start moving around the circle looking for a NEW FT style.

You do not and cannot FIX the problem if you stand at a different spot every time you shoot a FT.

Bad analogy. A more fitting one would be whether or not you moved around in the batters box or always stood in the same place. If you're claiming that then you're either not a very good hitter or not being honest.

And Josh isn't moving every time he shoots a FT. As far as I know this has been a recent thing and it's the 1st time he's tried a different spot in his career.

Just like AHF said above, Chuck Knoblauch played baseball for a LONG time and then one day he couldn't make the basic throw to 1st base and I can guarantee you that he practiced as much as anyone.

[Admin]

This isn't the first time that Josh has started to SUCK at the free throw line, this happened back the season after Josh signed the offer sheet with Memphis and we match. And please tell me, what is the mental block that Josh has? Magical faries? He had a bad conch salad one day? Bad experience at Magic City? Sounds like without an actual answer to this, you aren't explaining anything. That has been my point, you aren't actually giving a reason. I guess my iPhone joke was too far over the edge, sorry about that.

Last I remember, Chucky lost his throwing ability and never got it back. Josh shot over 70% two seasons ago after shooting in the 50s four seasons ago. He has highly variable free throw percentage.

Why can you not accept that a mental block is a real thing? Have you never heard of a golfer with a case of the yips? Why do you think that opposing fans wave objects to distract players? Is it really so difficult to believe that a mentally weak player like Josh has let his mental weakness about shooting FTs get the better of him? This pretty much ends the discussion as far as I'm concerned about this being a real possibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yips

Yips or the yips is the apparent loss of fine motor skills without apparent explanation, in one of a number of different sports. The technical term is focal dystonia. Athletes affected by the yips demonstrate a sudden, unexplained, loss of previous skills. Athletes affected by the yips sometimes recover their ability, sometimes compensate by changing technique, or may be forced to abandon their sport at the highest level.

'The yips' is also used as a facetious excuse for muffing a seemingly easy athletic task, such as a six-inch putt, when the true cause of the failure can often be attributed to other causes such as folding under pressure.

[Admin]

Because it is a nonexplanation.

"Hey Dolf, why did you show up late for work today?"

"Uh, mental block"

"OK sounds good!"

If you accept nonexplanations as explanations then you are regressing in society. I am not completely dismissing the idea that mental blocks exist, there are just better explanations than this.

Next time I see a miss in this game, I will just call it a Dolf mental block. Clearly that must be the answer! Hey look, another mental block just now. We have 17 consecutive mental blocks in a row as I type this.

Yeah it's a nonexplanation. That's why there isn't a mental health field in medicine because it's not a real thing. Wow. Just wow.

[Admin]

SO WHAT IS HIS EVENT THAT TRIGGERED THE MENTAL BLOCK? YOU SEE, YOU GIVE ZERO EVIDENCE FOR THIS. I AT LEAST PUT PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATIONS OF LACK OF PRACTICE AND I HAVE GIVEN EXAMPLES.

(I AM NOT YELLING, THESE ARE RALLY CAPS. BLAME JAYBIRD, SHE CALLED FOR THEM IN THE CHAT)

What part above of "a sudden, unexplained, loss of previous skills" are you getting tripped up on?

[Admin]

AGAIN UNEXPLAINED! YOU DON'T HAVE AN EXPLANATION AND THAT IS THE CRUX OF THE ISSUE. YOUR EXPLANATION IS THAT THERE IS NO EXPLANATION. GREAT JOB YOU REALLY HELPED OUT A LOT.

IT IS A NON ANSWER.

The explanation is that you are incapable of admitting you're wrong. That's not surprising though as I don't recall you ever being able to admit that. And with that I'm done as I'm tired of arguing at a wall.

[NiquesBiggestFan]

Do not care anymore. Coach Drew is out the door and it's likely Josh will not be back either. To be honest I'm gonna hate to see Josh go. The sooner Drew is fired, however, the better I'll feel about the Hawks future.