I'm sick of these guys that criticize Josh Smith because he can dunk the freakin ball. They do the same thing to Gerald Green. Sure he can dunk over just about anyone in the league, but that doesn't mean he does not have an offensive game. Check out these stats<u>In April</u>:18 PPG | 8 RPG | 4.2 APG | 1.2 SPG | 3.4 BPGHe did that in 11 games, but every month he improved and his playing time increased.Most of you guys say he'll never be an all-star. And I want to why NOT?! Someone give me some reason on why he cannot be an all-star. He put up outstanding numbers in the 2nd half of the season. The kid is 20 years old, and he's only going to get tons better. During the year he DID develop a 3 point shot. He hit a game winning 3 point fadeaway to win a game, after the all-star break. He took over 100 3 pointers in the year. He took over 5 TIMES as many 3's in 2006, than he did in 2005. That means he gained confidence in his shot, and it obviously improved tons.His jump shot was consistent, he would hit the open jumper. Now, after the all-star break he was getting 10+ ppg, on a regular basis, and just about every 5 games, he would explode for 20+ points.From the stats I showed at the top, he improved his passing tremendously, averaging 4+ assists per game. On some nights he would get 8-9 assists. What young guys do that? I don't know of any. He filled up the stat sheet every night, some on the offensive end, some on the defensive end. Then some nights he completely destroyed the opposing team on both ends.*Example - April 15 vs Milwaukee Bucks : Smith scored 28 points, recorded 7 assists, and 7 rebounds. The Hawks ended up winning that particular game 120-114.Offense isn't all that he imrpoved on, he still was among the league leaders in blocks, and blocks per game. He made the top 10 numerous times for his thunderous blocks. He's one of the few young men out there that can become an elite defender in this league, many young kids now a days focus on the offense and become lazy on the defensive end. Smith is always active on D.That might be the longest post I've ever made, I hope I've convinced some people that Josh Smith...is the real dealSOURCE: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_smith/http://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_smith/season_splits.htmlhttp://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_smith/g...game_stats.html
When we were talking about this the other day I looked at his stats when you told me about his great second half, he had some HUGE assist/block games...the guy is going to be amazing. I havn't been giving him his due.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BCB @ Jul 3 2006, 09:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>When we were talking about this the other day I looked at his stats when you told me about his great second half, he had some HUGE assist/block games...the guy is going to be amazing. I havn't been giving him his due.</div>I know, but I was looking at that thread "Who will be a future all-star', and it pissed me off that the majority of the people knew nothing of Josh Smith and voted a NO for Josh Smith..
Think about underrated players, Dominique Wilkins, Desmond Mason, Jason Richardson, Larry Nance, they're all great dunkers, but that's all anyone remembers about them. Dunking is like a curse, once you win a contest, no one cares what else you can do, it's all about you dunking, that's all you're known for. It's unfair but that's just how people are.P.S. Josh Smith is a stud, I've always liked his defensive game.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Lakaboy42 @ Jul 3 2006, 09:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Think about underrated players, Dominique Wilkins, Desmond Mason, Jason Richardson, Larry Nance, they're all great dunkers, but that's all anyone remembers about them. Dunking is like a curse, once you win a contest, no one cares what else you can do, it's all about you dunking, that's all you're known for. It's unfair but that's just how people are.</div>Its just really irritated me for the past few days..BTW Desmond Mason was a very underrated player for the Bucks..
I love Desmond Mason...he averaged 17ppg for us a couple years ago and had some of the greatest in game dunks you NEVER saw on Sportscenter.
Josh Smith really improved his scoring last year. I'm impressed. The kid is so talented, and I voted for him as a future AS fyi.Obviously he is a great defender and good at getting rebounds, blocks and steals, but he also has the ability to score. He is lanky and athletic, he can drive, he is strong and he has formed a decent jumper and I bet that will keep on improving.He's a guy that you would find in a dictionary if you looked up stat-filler.
The fact he plays for Atlanta already makes him go unoticed. Winning that dunk contest helped him gain popularity but now when you think Josh Smith you think Dunk contest. Same for Dominique, not many people know he was inducted to the hall of fame this year.Good thread though Jamez, I myself never really bothered checking out his stats and never he knew he played so well offensively, the times I did see him play though he was a spectacular defensive player, he even recorded 8 blocks against the Knicks last year and he had several 3+ this year.
Well he's certainly better than I thought he was, but he wasn't exactly leading his team; the Hawks are horrible and he's not even the best player on his team. Smith would not have had those numbers on a good team as he wouldn't have recieved the same amount of playing time. The East is stacked right now with guards. Gilbert Arenas only made the All-Star team because of an injury last year, and he's a hell of a lot better than Smith. Until the Hawks start winning we won't see any of their players in the All-Star game. So Smith's best hope for an All-Star appearence is to be traded or pray management makes some moves to improve the team. Right now he's got Childress, Johnson, and Marvin Williams to battle for playing time. Williams has arguably more potential, and Johnson is better right now. Anyway, those are some of the reasons why I don't see him as a future All-Star. Gerald Green may turn out to be a bust, but the Celtics don't exactly have a lot of competition for him. Gerald will be given every oppertunity to succeed while Smith will have to battle for playing time on a lottery-bound team.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Heatfan32 @ Jul 4 2006, 02:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The fact he plays for Atlanta already makes him go unoticed. Winning that dunk contest helped him gain popularity but now when you think Josh Smith you think Dunk contest. Same for Dominique, not many people know he was inducted to the hall of fame this year.Good thread though Jamez, I myself never really bothered checking out his stats and never he knew he played so well offensively, the times I did see him play though he was a spectacular defensive player, he even recorded 8 blocks against the Knicks last year and he had several 3+ this year.</div>Well against the Knicks it does not say much. (Just Joking)This guy is better then I though can be very good.
He's like the black AK47. I'm most impressed by his weakside blocking. A team like the lakers with crappy frontcourt blockers could use him.
