4 Years in the League and He Still Does Not Get It

Please help explain something to me. Now, I am only trying to compare these two players on their understanding of the NBA game, but Josh Smith and LeBron James both came into the NBA out of high school and in successive drafts (LBJ 2003 and Smoove 2004) and while it seems LBJ has figured out how to play this game at a ridiculously high level, Smith is still making mistakes that would send any rookie straight to the bench.

Remember what I said, I am not trying to compare these two careers because anyone could tell you that LeBron was going to be a superstar while some people merely claimed Josh Smith could be Next. While his showing in the 2005 NBA All-Star Dunk Contest led all of us to believe he was on the verge of something special, I cannot help to wonder if we will pereptually be waiting for this transformation.

Do not get me wrong here. Josh Smith is a stat stuffer when it comes to what he brings to the court. The dude even gets consideration for being a Round 1 Fantasy Draft player. But anyone who watches his games with any regularity, which does not seem to include anyone who makes NBA mock-fantasy drafts, knows that there is something off about that. I mean, including yourself in the first round of fantasy puts you in the category with Wade, CP3, LBJ, Howard, Amare, Kobe, and many more players who have developed a one-name reputation. Josh Smith does have this one-name recognition, Smoove, but has little else in being compared to those players.

I also realize that I was the one who only a week ago wrote the piece about how much we missed his presence in the lineup, but after last night I am wondering if the bench is missing his presence more. Even though he is this Round 1 talent, Smoove needs to realize that he does not have the dribbling skills or court vision of CP3. He needs to realize that he does not have the same jump shot as Kobe and needs to realize that he is not the lead player on the team like Amare thinks he is.

Smoove, on the other hand, decided to prove to all of us, "Guess what suckas, I do have all of these skills," when last night he successfully ruined any chance the Hawks had at beating the Rockets in Houston. With the Hawks up 6 in the 4th quarter, Smith proceeded to miss a 3PT shot even though he had only connected on one earlier in the night, then fouled Carl Landry for a "score and one more".  This foul was committed when both he and Al tried to block a Ron Artest fast break point instead of just letting one go for the block (in this case Al since he was in front of Josh) and the other try to rebound the miss. Well, Landry got the rebound and Smith fouled him sending him to the line. Smoove then missed another 3PT shot followed by Yao scoring and drawing a foul on Smoove for another And1 opportunity. What did Smith do for his next act? He missed another terrible shot followed by a horrible pass leading to a turnover. A six point lead erased and well you all know the rest.

Here's the thing - I am not writing this to criticize my boy and this is not to blame him for last night's loss (maybe a little). I am just trying to figure out when the kid will put all his talents together and form an elite player along the lines of other superstars. There is no reason for Josh to ever lead our team in attempted shots when we have Bibby and Joe playing (like last night where Smoove went 5-19 before being pulled in the 4th). The only way for basketball players to truly play well is if they play within themselves and do the things their teams need them to do. We need Smith to rebound, block shots, and score when he can drive it to the basket. That is all. Stop taking 3's. Stop taking those terrible jump shots. Stop dribbling the ball up the court. Start dunking. Start rebounding. Start blocking shots. Start listening to the coaches and other players. Start playing like we know you can because I am getting sick of these mental lapses and immaturity...and from the looks of things, your teammates are too.